Self-hate causes nonsuicidal self-injury among young sexual minority men. This is according to a study – “Internalized Homophobia, Body Dissatisfaction, Psychological Distress, and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Among Young Sexual Minority Men in China” by Bijie Tie, Chanyuan Tang, Yaoxiang Ren, Shuqi Cui, and Jinbo He – that appeared in LGBT Health.
The study noted that as it is, sexual minority men (SMM) have been shown to be at high risk of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). Internalized homophobia, body dissatisfaction, and psychological distress have been found to be related to NSSI among SMM.
In total, 264 young SMM (mean age, 22.00 ± 2.86 years) in Henan Province, China, participated in the study. A set of questionnaires were used to assess participants’ internalized homophobia, body fat dissatisfaction, muscularity dissatisfaction, psychological distress, and NSSI. Correlation and mediation analyses were used to examine the data.
The study found that, indeed, internalized homophobia correlated positively with NSSI (r = 0.24, p < 0.001) among young SMM. This relationship was partly mediated by body fat dissatisfaction, muscularity dissatisfaction, and psychological distress.
The study “suggests that internalized homophobia is a risk factor for NSSI among young SMM… and that body fat and muscle dissatisfaction and psychological distress underlie the association between internalized homophobia and NSSI.” This, according to the researchers, should be considered when “developing interventions targeting NSSI among SMM.”
