The Naked Truth: Development of a Scale Designed to Measure Male Body Image Self-Consciousness during Physical Intimacy

Abstract

Using a sample of male participants ( N = 136) from the Republic of Ireland, the aim of this study was to develop a psychometrically sound measure of male body image self-consciousness during physical intimacy (i.e., The Male Body Image Self-Consciousness Scale, M-BISC). As predicted, participants' body image self-consciousness correlated positively with their sexual anxiety and motivation to become more muscular, and correlated negatively with their sexual esteem, body esteem, and self-rated physical attractiveness. Limitations of this study and directions for future research are outlined.