Body image disturbance and body dysmorphic symptoms among Bangladeshi university students: associated factors and Bayesian network analysis.

BACKGROUND

Body image disturbance and body dysmorphic symptoms are important appearance-related mental health concerns among university students, yet evidence from Bangladesh remains limited. This study examined factors associated with body image disturbance and body dysmorphic symptoms among Bangladeshi university students and explored their conditional dependency structure using Bayesian network analysis.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1,401 residential students at Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh, between December 2024 and January 2025. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire assessing sociodemographic, behavioral, psychosocial, mental health, eating-related, appearance-related, and body image variables. Bivariate analyses, multiple linear regression with HC3 robust standard errors, and theory-informed conditional Gaussian Bayesian network analysis were performed. The Bayesian network used 1,297 complete cases, 23 nodes, and 1,000 bootstrap replications.

RESULTS

Mean body image disturbance was 12.00 (SD = 5.39), and mean body dysmorphic symptoms were 3.37 (SD = 2.76). In adjusted models, female gender, traditional bullying, cyberbullying, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, eating disorder risk, and several appearance-specific discomfort variables were associated with higher body image disturbance and/or body dysmorphic symptoms. BMI was not independently associated with either outcome. The regression models explained 24.3% of the variance in body image disturbance and 21.4% of the variance in body dysmorphic symptoms. The averaged Bayesian network retained 13 arcs, including stable dependencies between body image disturbance and body dysmorphic symptoms, cyberbullying and body image disturbance, and anxiety symptoms and body dysmorphic symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Body image disturbance and body dysmorphic symptoms among Bangladeshi university students were associated with psychological, interpersonal, eating-related, and appearance-specific factors. Bayesian network analysis suggested exploratory conditional dependency patterns among these variables. Findings should be interpreted as cross-sectional associations rather than causal pathways and may inform integrated university-based mental health, body image, and anti-bullying support strategies.

CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.