Physical activity and body image: Intertwined health priorities identified by transmasculine young people in a non-metropolitan area

Abstract

Background: A dearth of research exists about the health behaviors of transgender young people (TYP). As we seek to learn more about transgender (trans) health, community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches are crucial for incorporating TYP’s needs into the formulation of research questions and development of health behavior programing.

Aim: Explore body image and exercise as priorities among TYP.

Methods: Trans masculine young adults (N?=?16) in a small city in the Midwest took part in semi-structured interviews about their health behaviors and priorities. Theme analysis was used to capture key patterns in participants’ responses. Specific analysis steps included initial and more specific coding, analytical memos, organizational matrices and reports, and discussion about results with participants.

Results: Participants identified exercise and body image as connected primary health concerns. They discussed these issues in terms of three themes: Body shape as motivation for exercise; Poor body image, stigma and fear as exercise barriers, and; Exercise or lack of, as destructive. Participants wanted to exercise to achieve a certain body shape, not for health or as stress relief. They cited gyms as unwelcoming, however. They also worried about discrimination and did not feel sufficiently comfortable with their bodies to exercise. When they could not exercise, they used harmful behaviors, like restricted eating, to achieve a specific male shape.

Conclusions: Using participatory methods allowed us to understand the priorities of a group of Transmasculine young people. Our findings suggest that it is important to continue to explore TYP’s body-related motivations for exercise and understand the balance between exercise as a positive health behavior, and a potentially harmful one, in light of TYP’s complex body image concerns. Trans friendly gyms and gym policies could promote safe exercise and continued anti trans discrimination work and policy advocacy can promote the safety of TYP in all spaces.     

Self‐Criticism as a Transdiagnostic Process in Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury and Disordered Eating: Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

Nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) and disordered eating (DE) are highly comorbid and may be regarded as belonging to a spectrum of self‐harm behaviors. We investigated self‐criticism as a transdiagnostic correlate of these behaviors, in keeping with etiological theories of both NSSI and DE. We reviewed the literature and meta‐analyzed the relation of self‐criticism to both NSSI (15 studies; 17 effect sizes) and DE (24 studies; 29 effect sizes). Results showed equivalent, moderate‐to‐large effects for the relation of self‐criticism to NSSI (r = .38; CI: .29–.46) and DE (r = .40; CI: .34–.45). The relation of NSSI to self‐criticism generalized across multiple potential moderators. DE behavior type moderated the relation of self‐criticism to DE, with a stronger relation emerging for purging than restriction. Findings support self‐criticism as a possible candidate for transdiagnostic pathways to self‐harm.     

Seemingly Harmless Racial Communications Are Not So Harmless: Racial Microaggressions Lead to Suicidal Ideation by Way of Depression Symptoms

Racial microaggressions, a contemporary form of subtle discrimination that occurs in everyday interactions, are associated with a variety of negative mental health outcomes. Research has not extended the connection between racial microaggressions and negative mental health to include suicide risk. Given the well‐known association between negative mental health outcomes and suicide risk, the current study examined whether racial microaggressions predicted suicidal ideation through depression symptoms among 405 young adults of color. Depression symptoms mediated the relationship between racial microaggressions and suicidal ideation. This is the first study to associate racial microaggressions to suicide risk. Societal and clinical implications are discussed.     

Thomas Aquinas on Virtuous Warfare

Thomas Aquinas, one of the "founding fathers" of just war theory, offers an account of virtuous warfare in practice. The author argues that Aquinas's approach to warfare, with its emphasis on justice and charity, is helpful in providing a coherent moral account of war to which Christians can subscribe. Particular attention is given to the role of charity, since this virtue is the distinguishing characteristic of the Christian soldier. Charity compels him to soldier justly, and by fighting justly, he is elevated by God to friendship with God. Notable features of this approach are its emphasis on the criteria for judging whether a war is just and its relativizing of the criteria for proper combat behavior.