Reported higher general early-life bullying victimization is uniquely associated with more eating pathology and poor psychosocial well-being in Chinese sexual minority men

Abstract

General early-life bullying victimization has been used as an early-life marker of eating and body image disturbances and poor psychosocial well-being later in life. We expand existing research in this area to Chinese sexual minority (SM) men, a vulnerable and under-researched subgroup, by considering associations of general early-life bullying victimization with current eating and body image disturbances and poor psychosocial well-being. We assessed demographics, general early-life bullying victimization, past appearance teasing, current thinness- and muscularity-oriented eating and body image disturbances, and current psychosocial well-being in Chinese SM men (N = 433). Correlation and hierarchical linear regressions examined the study hypotheses. Beyond covariates (e.g., age) and past appearance teasing, general early-life bullying victimization explained significant, unique variance in all outcome variables. Specifically, higher general early-life bullying victimization was uniquely associated with more current thinness- and muscularity-oriented eating and body image disturbances and poor psychosocial well-being. Consistent with research in the Western context, findings suggest that general early-life bullying victimization is a meaningful, positive correlate of current eating and body image disturbances and poor psychosocial well-being in Chinese SM men. Future research considering sexual minority stress as a theoretical backdrop may help explain associations between general early-life bullying victimization and negative health outcomes.