Faculty-Student Research Highlights: Psychology

Body Image and Gender Diverse Populations

Professor of Psychology Linda Lin and Blue Maranto'25

Professor of Psychology Dr. Linda Lin has been researching body image for more than 20 years, and has published widely on topics of body talk, body satisfaction, social media and disordered eating, both with professional peers and with more than a dozen Emmanuel undergraduates serving as co-authors.

While Dr. Lin notes that the majority of research on body image has been informed by gendered societal norms, with nearly all research studying cisgender female and cisgender male individuals, the current conceptualization of gender now includes a fuller range of gender identities beyond the binary (e.g., non-binary, gender fluid, gender queer, agender) and little is known about the body image concerns of people who do not identify as cisgender.

“Studying the body image concerns of gender diverse populations is particularly important because a core feature of gender dysphoria is dissatisfaction with gendered aspects of their bodies and appearance,” Dr. Lin writes in a recent research proposal. “Gender dysphoria is connected with higher rates of depression, anxiety, suicide, and self-harm. A stronger understanding of the body image concerns of gender diverse individuals will allow us to better address the needs of this population.”

Dr. Lin has been working with Blue Maranto ’25 for the on a project examining the body image concerns of gender diverse individuals. The team has been working together to review the literature on the body image concerns of gender diverse individuals and develop a study. During summer 2023, they have been collecting data using both an online survey and in-depth interviews on a project that examined the body image concerns of gender diverse individuals and how they are related to psychological well-being and quality of life.

For Blue, who plans to complete a project for Distinction in the Field of Study and eventually apply to graduate school, this is an opportunity for them to gain significant research experience, potentially present their research findings at a professional scientific conference, such as the International Conference on Eating Disorders, and depending on the strength of data, serve as a co-author in a peer-reviewed publication.