Intraminority stress clarifies the link between LGBTQ+ community involvement and thinness-oriented disordered eating in sexual minoritized men.

Although historically protective for mental health, LGBTQ+ community involvement has been shown to be associated with more disordered eating in sexual minoritized men (SMM). Intraminority stress, or within-community stress, may clarify this relationship. We tested if (a) associations between LGBTQ+ community involvement and disordered eating remained significant after accounting for covariates and intraminority stress (general and body stigma) and if (b) intraminority stress moderated associations between LGBTQ+ community involvement and disordered eating. An online cross-sectional analysis of 225 SMM from Prolific (Mage = 25.79; n = 62 gay; n = 143 bisexual; n = 22 queer) was conducted with validated self-report measures in SMM. LGBTQ+ community involvement was positively associated with thinness- (β = .19, p = .004) and muscularity-oriented (β = .31, p p = .18) with the inclusion of intraminority body stigma, whereas the association between LGBTQ+ community involvement and muscularity-oriented disordered eating remained significant (β = .21, p < .001). Among SMM who reported higher levels of general and body stigma intraminority stress, LGBTQ+ community involvement was more strongly and positively associated with thinness- and muscularity-oriented disordered eating. Simultaneously testing interaction terms together, as well as a potential three-way interaction (e.g., LGBTQ+ community involvement × general intraminority stress × intraminority body stigma), identified only body stigma as a significant moderator that strengthened the positive association between LGBTQ+ community involvement and disordered eating. Eating disorder screening, prevention, and intervention efforts among SMM may consider targeting intraminority stress related to body stigma. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)