Assessing the Relationship between Body Image and Quality of Life Among Rural and Urban Breast Cancer Survivors in China

Purpose This study aimed to examine the associations between multidimensional body image and quality of life (QoL) and test whether the associations between body image and QoL are moderated by rural-urban residence in Chinese breast cancer survivors. Methods A cross-sectional design was adopted. Breast cancer survivors were recruited via a convenience sampling method. Two validated questionnaires (Body Image Self-Rating Questionnaire for Breast Cancer and SF-36) and questions assessing demographic and clinical covariates were administered. Results In our sample of 354 breast cancer survivors, half (50.28%) lived in rural areas. After adjusting for demographic and clinical variables, better perception of body image-related sexual activity change, role change, and psychological change was significantly associated with better physical and mental well-being. Better perception of body image-related social and behavior change domains was only significantly associated with better mental well-being. The association between body image and mental well-being was much stronger in urban subjects (b = -0.38, p < 0.001) than in rural subjects (b = -0.20, p < 0.001). Conclusions Our findings suggest that multidimensional body image is associated with physical and mental well-being in Chinese breast cancer survivors. Body image appears to play a larger role in urban breast cancer survivors’ mental well-being. Our findings indicate that incorporating interventions that address body image issues would be advantageous for survivorship care programs focused on enhancing QoL in breast cancer survivors. Considering the rural-urban differences supports strategic design of the care programs in rural and urban settings.

The Role of Scar Origin in Shaping Men’s Body Image

Men generally have a more positive body image than women. However, the extent to which scars negatively influence men’s body image is uncertain. The aim of the current study was to assess body image in men with and without scars while taking scar origin into account (nonsuicidal self-harming injuries [NSSI] vs. accidents or surgery). One hundred and nine men ( n = 19 with NSSI) and 185 women ( n = 96 with NSSI) filled in multidimensional body image questionnaires. Results indicate that on most clinical subscales women had a significantly more negative body image compared with men. However, within a subsample whose scars resulted from NSSI, gender differences vanished. Among men, scar origin was significantly associated with negative body image after partialling out scar characteristics, age, and borderline symptomatology. The visibility of scars was not associated with more severe body image disturbances. The results of our study indicate that self-inflicted scars adversely affect body image. Although women generally reported having a more negative body image, disturbances in body image should not be neglected among men, especially in those who have self-inflicted scars.

Impact of Body Mass Index on Body Image Dimensions: Results from a Body-Image Questionnaire Designed for Dancers

This investigation was conducted to test the reliability and validity of the Multidimensional Body Image Questionnaire (MBIQD) designed for dancers. The newly constructed MBIQD was administered to 393 female and male participants (average age 21.8 yrs) from three European countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia). The scale consisted of 43 items in a 5-point response scale. Factorial analysis yielded eight factors (attractiveness, strength, joy, bad health/weakness, flexibility, body efficacy, nervousness, and masculinity) and explained 56.6% of the total variance. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) of the items assigned to each of the eight MBIQD subscales was high and satisfactory (from 0.71 to 0.89). The second aim was to identify gender differences within the MBIQD subscales. According to independent-sample t-tests, female dancers showed significantly higher results on the MBIQD scales of joy and flexibility, while male dancers scored significantly higher on the masculinity scale. The third aim was to identify differences between the group of dancers defined by body mass index (BMI) and the eight MBIQD subscales separately by gender. According to the Wilks test, there was a significant multivariate effect for female subjects (F = 2.06, p <0.01) and for male subjects (F = 3.05, p <0.00). According to post-hoc Fisher LSD test, significant differences in BMI groups among female dancers were found in attractiveness, strength, and masculinity MBIQD scales, while the male dancers, divided by BMI, showed significant differences in bad health/weakness, body efficacy, and flexibility MBIQD scales. This is the first research that has reported specific gender differences in body image self-perception among dancers.