Body Esteem and Self-examination in British Men and Women

Background: breast and testicular cancers affect a substantial and increasing proportion of the global population. self-examination encourages early detection and treatment of these cancers, which positively impacts on patient quality of life and survival. methods: the present study investigated the role of body esteem in breast and testicular self-examination. men (n = 60) and women (n = 90) recruited from a british university completed the body esteem scale and either the testicular self-examination or breast self-examination questionnaire. results: logistic regression models revealed that body esteem predicted women’s intention to engage in breast self-examination. women with higher levels of sexual attractiveness and those with lower levels of weight concern were more likely to report that they would regularly self-examine in the future. body esteem did not however, distinguish between those women that did or did not currently self-examine or predict men’s current or intended testicular self-examination. conclusion: the findings have implications for the promotion of self-examination and highlight an emerging area of preventive health research.