Body checking behaviors and eating disorder pathology among nonbinary individuals with androgynous appearance ideals.

Abstract

Internalized sociocultural standards of attractiveness are a risk factor repeatedly linked to eating disorders; however, many nonbinary individuals do not conform to these standards. This study investigated the body checking behaviors and eating disorder pathology among nonbinary individuals with androgynous appearance ideals. Participants (n = 194) completed an online survey assessing body checking behaviors, body appreciation, gender congruence, and eating disorder pathology RESULTS: Body checking predicted eating disorder pathology, and body image significantly improved the model. Gender congruence did not additional variance in predicting eating pathology CONCLUSION: Though gender congruence was not a significant predictor of eating pathology, content analysis revealed unique body behaviors specific to nonbinary individuals' gender identity and gender expression. Clinical implications include expanding perceptions of eating disorder presentation when working with nonbinary individuals with androgynous appearance ideals. Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.