Body Image and Disordered Eating Among LGBTQ+ University Students and Recent Graduates in Rural Appalachia: A Thematic Analysis
Abstract
LGBTQ+ university students and recent graduates of a large rural Appalachian institution were interviewed for an exploratory thematic analysis on body image and disordered eating behaviors. While participants noted an overall sense of comfortability in the university setting, there were varying obstacles associated with navigating intersecting identities and physical presentation that were noted in the data. Excerpts from participant interviews were coded into five unique themes: (1) feeling “othered”/different from peers as well as fellow LGBTQ+ community members, (2) seeking comfortability with body/self, (3) facing stereotypes and image expectations based on presumed gender identity and/or sexual/affectional orientation, (4) general experiences as an LGBTQ+ community member in a rural university town, and (5) seeking increased support from the university. This study concludes that significant challenges related to body image are exacerbated by common experiences as a person in the LGBTQ+ community.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Arcelus, J., Mitchell, A. J., Wales, J., & Nielsen, S. (2011). Mortality rates in patients with
anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders: a meta-analysis of 36 studies. Archives of general psychiatry, 68(7), 724-731. doi: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.74
Baker, N., Ferszt, G., & Breines, J. G. (2019). A Qualitative Study Exploring Female College
Students' Instagram Use and Body Image. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2018.0420
Ballard, M. E., Jameson, J. P., & Martz, D. M. (2017). Sexual identity and risk behaviors among
adolescents in rural Appalachia. Journal of Rural Mental Health, 41(1), 17-29. https://doi.org/10.1037/rmh0000068
Bozard Jr, R. L., & Young, J. S. (2016). The roles of family, friends, and romantic/sexual
partners in the body image of sexual minority men. Journal of Counseling & Development, 94(2), 150-160. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12072
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in
Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. doi: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Brewster, M. E., Velez, B. L., Breslow, A. S., & Geiger, E. F. (2019). Unpacking body image
concerns and disordered eating for transgender women: The roles of sexual objectification and minority stress. Journal of counseling psychology, 66(2), 131-142. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000333
CDC. (2016). Sexual Identity, Sex of Sexual Contacts, and Health-Risk Behaviors Among
Students in Grades 9-12: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/ss/pdfs/ss6509.pdf
Chang, J. J., Salas, J., Tabet, M., Kasper, Z., Elder, K., Staley, H., & Brownson, R. C. (2017).
Changes in body mass index and the trajectory of depressive symptoms among rural men and women. The Journal of Rural Health, 33(2), 190-197. doi: 10.1111/jrh.12170
Coffey, D. E. (2015). Effect of Targeted LGBT Media on Body Image Perception Of Gay College
Men (Doctoral dissertation). http://hdl.handle.net/11714/594
Cooke-Jackson, A., & Hansen, E. K. (2008). Appalachian culture and reality TV: The ethical
dilemma of stereotyping others. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 23(3), 183-200. https://doi.org/10.1080/08900520802221946
Crouch, M., & McKenzie, H. (2006). The logic of small samples in interview-based qualitative
research. Social Science Information, 45(4), 483–499. https://doi.org/10.1177/0539018406069584
Diemer, E. W., Grant, J. D., Munn-Chernoff, M. A., Patterson, D. A., & Duncan, A. E. (2015).
Gender identity, sexual orientation, and eating-related pathology in a national sample of college students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 57(2), 144-149. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.03.003
Dunbar, M. S., Sontag-Padilla, L., Ramchand, R., Seelam, R., & Stein, B. D. (2017). Mental
health service utilization among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning or queer college students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 61(3), 294-301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.03.008
Evans, R., Nagoshi, J. L., Nagoshi, C., Wheeler, J., & Henderson, J. (2017). Voices from the
stories untold: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer college students' experiences with campus climate. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 29(4), 426-444. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538720.2018.1378144
Gagnon, L. L., & Roberge, G. D. (2012). Dissecting the journey: Nursing student experiences with
collaboration during the group work process. Nurse Education Today, 32(8), 945-950. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2011.10.019
Gallivan, H.R. (2014). Teens, social media, and body image. Retrieved February 10, 2019 from
https://www.macmh.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/18_Gallivan_Teens-social-media-b ody-image-presentation-H-Gallivan-Spring-2014.pdf
Hayfield, N., Halliwell, E., & Clarke, V. (2017). An exploration of bisexual, lesbian, and
heterosexual women's body dissatisfaction, and body hair and make-up practices. Psychology of Sexualities Section Review, 8(2), 55-67. https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/876810
Hood, L., Sherrell, D., Pfeffer, C. A., & Mann, E. S. (2019). LGBTQ College Students’
Experiences With University Health Services: An Exploratory Study. Journal of homosexuality,66(6), 797-814. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2018.1484234
James, S. E., Herman, J. L., Rankin, S., Keisling, M., Mottet, L., & Anafi, M. (2016). The Report
of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. Washington, DC: National Center for Transgender Equality. https://www.transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/USTS-Full-Report-FINAL.PDF
Kwan, M. Y., Gordon, K. H., Minnich, A. M., Carter, D. L., & Troop-Gordon, W. (2017). Peer
victimization and eating disorder symptoms in college students. Journal of social and clinical psychology, 36(5), 419-436. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2017.36.5.419
Marques, L., Alegria, M., Becker, A. E., Chen, C.-n., Fang, A., Chosak, A., & Diniz, J. B. (2011).
Comparative prevalence, correlates of impairment, and service utilization for eating disorders across US ethnic groups: implications for reducing ethnic disparities in health care access for eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 44(5), 412-4120. doi: 10.1002/eat.20787
McClain, Z., & Peebles, R. (2016). Body image and eating disorders among lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender youth. Pediatric Clinics, 63(6), 1079-1090. doi: 10.1016/j.pcl.2016.07.008
National Eating Disorders Association. (2018, February 21). Eating disorders in
LGBTQ populations. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/general-information/lgbtq
National Geographic (n.d.) Rural area. National Geographic. Retrieved from
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/rural-area/
Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic analysis:
Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847
Smith, M. L., Telford, E., & Tree, J. J. (2017). Body image and sexual orientation: The
experiences of lesbian and bisexual women. Journal of Health Psychology, 24(9), 1178–1190. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105317694486
The Trevor Project. (2018). Eating disorders among LGBTQ youth: A 2018 national assessment.
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/wpcontent/uploads/2018/03/Suicidality-and-Eating-Dis orders-Among-LGBTQYouth-2018-2.pdf
VanKim, N. A., Porta, C. M., Eisenberg, M. E., Neumark-Sztainer, D., & Laska, M. N. (2016).
Lesbian, gay and bisexual college student perspectives on disparities in weight-related behaviours and body image: a qualitative analysis. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 25(23-24), 3676-3686. doi: 10.1111/jocn.13106
Vermeir, E., Jackson, L. A., & Marshall, E. G. (2018). Barriers to primary and emergency
healthcare for trans adults. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 20(2), 232-246. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2017.1338757
Whitehead, J., Shaver, J., & Stephenson, R. (2016). Outness, stigma, and primary health care
utilization among rural LGBT populations. PloS one, 11(1), e0146139. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0146139
Woodford, M. R., Kulick, A., & Atteberry, B. (2015). Protective factors, campus climate, and
health outcomes among sexual minority college students. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 8(2), 73. doi: 10.1037/a0038552
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21831/progcouns.v2i1.39495
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Supervised by:
Our journal indexed by:
ISSN 2722-6581 (print) || ISSN 2722-2012 (online)
ProgCouns Stats