Sexual minority men showed statistically higher levels of body dissatisfaction than heterosexual men, with no difference among gay & bisexual men; sexual minority & heterosexual women had no difference in body dissatisfaction

Body dissatisfaction and sexual orientations: A quantitative synthesis of 30 years research findings. Jinbo He et al. Clinical Psychology Review, August 11 2020, 101896. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101896

Highlights
• Sexual minority men showed statistically higher levels of body dissatisfaction than heterosexual men.
• Gay men and bisexual men had no difference in body dissatisfaction.
• Sexual minority women and heterosexual women had no difference in body dissatisfaction.
• Lesbian women and bisexual women had no difference in body dissatisfaction.
• Inconsistency of the studies comparing sexual minority men and heterosexual men was moderated by multiple study features.
• Inconsistency of the studies comparing sexual minority women and heterosexual women was moderated only by survey method.

Abstract: Previous research studies on the relationship between body dissatisfaction and sexual orientation in men and women showed inconsistent results. To better understand this body of research, we conducted a quantitative synthesis based on a three-level random-effects meta-analytic model. In total, we analyzed 229 effect sizes from 75 primary studies published between 1986 and 2019. Results showed that sexual minority men had a higher level of body dissatisfaction than heterosexual men (57 studies, 128 effect sizes), with a small to medium effect size (d = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.28, 0.39). Other comparisons—bisexual men vs. gay men (6 studies, 9 effect sizes), sexual minority women vs. heterosexual women (36 studies, 85 effect sizes), and bisexual women vs. lesbian women (6 studies, 7 effect sizes)—showed smaller and statistically insignificant differences. Moderator analyses revealed that the inconsistency in previous studies comparing sexual minority men and heterosexual men could be partially explained by specific study features, including publication year, survey method, participants' age, participants' BMI, and measures used to assess body dissatisfaction. The inconsistent findings in comparing sexual minority women and heterosexual women could be partially explained by the different survey methods used in previous studies. Explanations and implications are discussed.

Keywords: Body imageBody dissatisfactionBody satisfactionSexual orientationLesbianGayBisexualMeta-analysisQuantitative synthesis