Extending the tripartite influence model: Sociocultural predictors of muscularity-oriented disordered eating in men

The Tripartite Influence Model (TIM) is a widely used framework for understanding sociocultural influences on body image concerns and disordered eating, but its extension to muscularity-oriented disordered eating (MODE) in men has not been fully tested. We surveyed 383 Chilean university men (M = 20.14 years, SD = 1.75) using measures of sociocultural pressures, appearance comparisons, muscular-ideal internalization, drive for muscularity, and MODE. Path analysis within a structural equation modeling framework was applied to test an extended TIM including family, peers, traditional media, and social media influences. The hypothesized model showed inadequate fit, but a theoretically informed respecified model adding a direct path from appearance comparisons to MODE achieved excellent fit (S-B χ²(11) = 21.35, p = .030, CFI = .979, TLI = .958, RMSEA = .053). Peers and social media significantly predicted both appearance comparisons and muscular-ideal internalization. Drive for muscularity predicted MODE (β =.28, p < .001), and appearance comparisons showed both indirect and direct associations with MODE (β =.34, p < .001). Findings provide preliminary support for extending the TIM to muscularity-oriented forms of disordered eating in men, highlighting appearance comparisons as a central variable within the model and the relevance of digital sociocultural pressures. These findings also suggest that drive for muscularity may be linked to disordered eating when eating pathology is assessed using measures aligned with muscularity-oriented concerns.