The roles of attachment to parents and gender in the relationship between Parental criticism and muscle dysmorphia symptomatology in adolescence

Adolescents are a population particularly at risk of body dissatisfaction, namely body dysmorphic disorder. The most recent literature has begun to increasingly examine muscularity as a critical element of body image. The drive for muscularity is recognized in both sexes as a risk factor for muscle dysmorphia. The present study aimed to investigate the roles of attachment to parents and gender on the association between parental criticism and muscle dysmorphia symptomatology. This study included 1062 participants (49.9% female) with an average age of 17.44 years (SD = 1.14). Path analysis modeling yielded significant results show that parental criticism appears to predict body dysmorphic concerns via parental alienation in both genders. and in males in particular it is associated with a greater drive for muscularity, in accordance with the male aesthetic model of physical appearance. Limits, future directions for research and practical implications are discussed.