Personality and psychological correlates of eating disorder symptoms among male collegiate athletes

Abstract

Despite a proliferation of research on disordered eating in female athletes, few studies have included male athletes. The purpose of this study was to determine which of five personality and psychological variables of interest (i.e., perfectionism, self-esteem, optimism, reasons for exercise, and appearance orientation) best predicted eating disorder status (i.e., symptomatic or asymptomatic) in male athletes. Two hundred three male athletes (Mage=20.29, SD=1.64) from three National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I institutions participated. More athletes were asymptomatic (80.8%) than symptomatic (19.2%). None of the variables significantly predicted symptomatic status. These findings contrast the literature on predictors of disordered eating symptomatology among female athletes, and suggest the need for further research to identify other potential predictors of eating disturbance among male athletes.

Keywords: Disordered eating; Eating disorders; Male athletes; Personality.