The Role of the Media, Perfectionism, and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation in Prediction of Muscle Dysmorphia Symptoms

Objective: The purpose of this research was to investigate the role of the media, perfectionism, and difficulties in emotion regulation in prediction of muscle dysmorphia symptoms. Method: In this research, 240 male body-builders were selected from five gyms in Gorgan (north of Iran). They were required to answer Muscle Dysmorphia Disorder Inventory (MDDI), Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS), The Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3), and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). The collected data were analyzed by Pearson correlation and multiple regression. Results: All variables were correlated with muscle dysmorphia symptom (P<0.01). Multiple regression analysis showed that all three variables, the media, perfectionism, and difficulties in emotional regulation can significantly predict muscle dysmorphia symptom (P<0.001). Conclusion: Importance and multi-aspect nature of social, cognitive, and emotional variables in formulation of muscle dysmorphia disorder were emphasized in this research.