The present study explored racial and cultural factors that influence body image development with a sample of 10 heterosexual Asian American women through in-person, semistructured interviews. Data were analyzed via the consensual qualitative research methodology (Hill, 2012; Hill et al., 2005) and highlighted several factors shaping body image for Asian American women: (a) interpersonal influences, (b) Asian and American body ideals, (c) thin-ideal internalization, and (d) protective behaviors and attitudes. The findings specifically identify the most frequently reported categories as male gazing, nonfamilial close relationships, and standards of body/beauty established by both Asian and American cultures. Limitations of findings and future research directions are provided.

Research has examined the relationship between religiosity and sexuality but few studies have explored the mechanisms by which sexual variables are influenced by religiosity. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of sex guilt in the relationship between religiosity and sexual desire in women. Euro-Canadian (n = 178) and East Asian (n = 361) female university students completed a battery of questionnaires. Higher levels of religious fundamentalism, intrinsic religiosity and spirituality were associated with higher levels of sex guilt in both ethnic groups. Paranormal belief was not associated with sex guilt in either ethnic group. The Euro-Canadian women reported significantly higher levels of sexual desire and significantly less sex guilt than the East Asian women. Among the Euro-Canadian women, sex guilt mediated the relationships between spirituality and sexual desire, and fundamentalism and sexual desire; among the East Asian women, sex guilt mediated the relationships between spirituality and sexual desire, fundamentalism and sexual desire, and intrinsic religiosity and sexual desire. These findings suggest that sex guilt may be one mechanism by which religiosity affects sexual desire among women.

This study provides a content analysis of peer-reviewed journal articles about consensual nonmonogamy (CNM) from a social scientific lens published from 1926 through 2016, excluding articles specific to polygamy or other faith-based relational practices. The content analysis yielded 116 articles, with most of the articles being nonempirical research (n ϭ 74) rather than empirical studies (n ϭ 42). Although the number of published articles about CNM has increased significantly in recent decades (n ϭ 26 from 1926 to 2000 compared with n ϭ 90 from 2001 to 2016), the topics discussed in CNM literature were narrow in scope and focused on (a) relationship styles, (b) CNM stigma, and/or (c) LGBTQ issues. Content analysis data showed that the vast majority of articles were published in journals about sexuality, suggesting that CNM remains an underexamined topic in psychological science. Additionally, only a handful of the total articles centered on topics related to family concerns (n ϭ 5) or training and counseling (n ϭ 2). Findings from this content analysis suggest that individuals and families who practice CNM are an underserved and understudied group that would benefit from advancements in psychological scholarship specific to their experiences.