LGBTQ+ Body Image and Eating Behaviors

Everyone has a body image (i.e., attitudes about one’s body). For most people, the way we feel about our bodies plays a role in our eating behaviors. While body image and eating behaviors are experienced by everyone, LGBTQ+ people have been shown to have unique experiences that differ from heterosexual/cisgender people. With this in mind, our lab’s research is focused on examining the relationships among body image (both negative and positive facets), eating behaviors, and overall mental health among LGBTQ+ people.

One aim of the lab is to conduct research that leads to significantly reducing the elevated rates of body image concerns and eating pathology among LGBTQ+ people. To that end, we investigate whether previously developed measures of body image are appropriate for LGBTQ+ people (i.e., are they “getting at” the same thing as for heterosexual/cisgender people; Soulliard & Vander Wal, 2019; Soulliard & Vander Wal, 2022). In addition to well-established theories, such as minority stress, our lab seeks to advance the field’s understanding by testing whether novel theories, such as intraminority gay community stress, may account for body image concerns specifically for sexual minority men (Soulliard, Lattanner, & Pachankis, under review). Throughout this research, we aim to work with multiple marginalized LGBTQ+ people, including queer and trans people of color (e.g., Soulliard, Layland, et al., 2022). Our lab is currently preparing for a longitudinal project to test the role of body image concerns and internalized weight bias as predictors of disordered eating across time among sexual minority women and men.

Implementation of Evidence-Based, LGBTQ-Affirmative Mental Health Interventions 

Given the mental health disparities faced by LGBTQ+ people, it is necessary to have the best possible treatment for LGBTQ+ clients. While evidence-based, LGBTQ-affirmative mental health interventions (e.g., LGBTQ-affirmative CBT) have and continue to be developed, such treatments (and training of such treatments) must be accessible to mental health clinicians who work with LGBTQ+ clients.

A second aim of the lab is to conduct implementation-based research with the goal of equipping mental health providers with evidence-based, LGBTQ-affirmative treatment, specifically LGBTQ-affirmative CBT. Our research is based on calls from clinical graduate students (Soulliard et al., 2021; Fitterman-Harris, Hughes, Soulliard, & Zane, 2022) and practicing clinicians (Pachankis et al., 2021) for training in such treatment, with evidence to suggest that training in LGBTQ-affirmative CBT can increase clinicians’ perceived clinical competence to work with their LGBTQ+ clients (Pachankis, Soulliard, et al., 2022). Our lab is currently collaborating with implementation researchers on a qualitative study focused on examining barriers and facilitators to implementing LGBTQ-affirmative CBT in LGBTQ+ community centers nationwide.

For undergraduate students interested in joining the BISQue Lab 

Interviews for research assistants (RAs) will begin in Spring 2023. In the meantime, fill out this brief interest survey so that we can add you to our email list: https://miamioh.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_57rmzTirRVg5UEu

If you have any questions, please reach out to the lab’s current graduate assistant (GA), Bella Tomei (tomeiia@miamioh.edu).