Understanding the role of gender in body image research settings: Participant gender preferences for researchers and co-participants in interviews, focus groups and interventions

Abstract

Participant gender preferences for body image researchers, interventionists and focus group and intervention co-participants have been largely ignored, despite recognition that such characteristics can influence the nature and quality of data collected and intervention effects.To address this, Australian women (n = 505) and men (n = 220) completed a questionnaire about their preferences for interviewers and focus group facilitators, for teachers delivering school-based interventions, and for co-participants in these settings. Women predominantly preferred female interviewers and teachers, and mixed-sex co-participants, but most had no preference for focus group facilitators. Body dissatisfied women were more likely to prefer female researchers and single-sex co-participants. Most men did not have specific preferences, however, body dissatisfied men were more likely to report a gender preference for interviewers and teachers. Professional capabilities, personal qualities and appearance were regarded as important researcher characteristics. These findings have important implications for body image research, particularly among high-risk groups.Keywords: Researcher characteristics, gender, body image, interviews, focus groups, It is well recognized that researcher characteristics (e.g., gender, race, personal qualities and appearance) can impact on the nature and quality of data collection and intervention effects (Davis, Couper, Janz, Caldwell, & Resnicow, 2010). This is especially the case for research relating to personal and sensitive topics (Davis et al., 2010), such as body image. Therefore to enhance the rigor and quality of body image research, it is important to examine the influence of researcher characteristics and settings, and to determine which settings are likely to make participants most comfortable. Enhancing participant comfort in interviews, focus groups and interventions is likely to (a) increase their provision of accurate, honest and reliable data, and to (b) maximize intervention effects.Despite this, very few studies specific to body image have investigated or reported participant preferences for researchers and co-participants. To begin to address this gap, in the current paper we examine participant gender preferences for researchers and co-participants in body image interview, focus group and school-based intervention research settings.In a paper encouraging researcher reflexivity, Finlay (2002, p. 531) suggests that "our behavior will always affect participants' responses, thereby influencing the direction of findings". Literature on the impact of researcher characteristics specific to body image studies is limited, however, such evidence does exist in the broader public health and social science literature. In their review of interviewer effects in public health surveys, Davis and colleagues (2010) summarize studies that have utilized multi-level modeling to determine whether there are differences in the self-reported, telephone assisted, or face-to-face reporting of public heal...

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