Michael Boroughs

• Ph.D.
• Harvard Medical School

Body depilation, or the reduction or removal of body hair, is a relatively new area of research inquiry. Although women in many industrialized cultures have engaged in depilation for several decades, this behavior has been documented only recently among men. Though originally thought to be widely practiced by women and only a small proportion of me...

A growing body of research suggests that a history of bullying victimization is a risk factor for sexual risk taking (e.g., unprotected sex, multiple sexual partners, using drugs or alcohol before or during sex). However, previous studies that have examined the association between bullying victimization and sexual risk taking used only single, or v...

Bullying victimization is a chronic stressor that can make it difficult for victims to cope in more adaptive ways. Consequently, victims may engage in health risk behaviors such as substance use and sexual risk taking to cope with bullying experiences. However, the specific types of emotional problems (e.g., anxiety, depression) victims cope with r...

Mental health symptoms may compromise health-related quality of life (HRQOL), including among men who have sex with men (MSM) living with HIV, who experience high rates of trauma and other stressors. This study sought to examine the relative contributions of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depression symptoms, and biological indices...

To address childhood sexual abuse (CSA) related distress and HIV risk in men who have sex with men (MSM) using cognitive-behavioral therapy for trauma and self-care (CBT-TSC), which is a novel intervention integrating HIV risk reduction with modified cognitive and behavioral therapy strategies for post-traumatic stress. We compared CBT-TSC to HIV v...

The experience of being bullied in childhood or adolescence affects health into adulthood and is a public health crisis. Particularly affected are sexual minority young adults who are at the greatest risk for severe and violent bullying, HIV seroconversion, and onset of a substance use disorder. Although the scholarly work in the area of bullying v...

Emerging adulthood (EA) is a developmental period marked by unique challenges that affect health including burgeoning occupational, relational, and financial stability; and increased risk taking in terms of sexual behavior(s) and substance use. Data were collected from 296 HIV-uninfected sexual minority men with childhood sexual abuse (CSA) histori...

Men who have sex with men (MSM) disproportionately experience childhood sexual abuse (CSA) compared with heterosexual men, often resulting in continued trauma-related sequelae, including symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) such as avoidance. The variability in trauma-related sequelae may be associated with chronicity or duration of CSA...

Self-medication theory posits that some trauma survivors use alcohol to cope with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, but the role of negative posttraumatic cognitions in this relationship is not well defined. We examined associations among PTSD symptoms, posttraumatic cognitions, and alcohol intoxication frequency in 290 men who have se...

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can be associated with condomless sex among men who have sex with men (MSM). However, the impact of moderating factors on the relationship between PTSD symptom severity and condomless sex is poorly understood. We examined whether PTSD symptom severity was a...

Health disparities affect stigmatized groups such as those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender communities relative to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. These disparities are perpetuated by stressors, including trauma exposure such that inequality in sociocultural resources which affect mental health and substance use outcome...

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are the group most at risk for HIV and represent the majority of new infections in the United States. Rates of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) among MSM have been estimated as high as 46 %. CSA is associated with increased risk of HIV and greater likelihood of HIV sexual risk behavior. The purpose of this study was to i...

A central part of providing evidence-based practice is appropriate cultural competence to facilitate psychological assessment and intervention with diverse clients. At a minimum, cultural competence with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people involves adequate scientific and supervised practical training, with increasing depth and co...

Pathoplasticity, or the influence personality style has on mental health disorders, is a burgeoning area of research among a variety of highly prevalent psychological disorders including major depression, anxiety disorders, and eating disorders, particularly bulimia nervosa. The principles supporting further development of this theoretical model in...

Recent studies suggest that body hair may be of increasing importance in men's overall body image. Body depilation is a relatively new area of clinical and research inquiry among men with much of the documented evidence of the phenomenon split between mass media accounts and descriptive scientific investigations. This study was undertaken to furthe...

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is a psychological disorder characterized by excessive appearance concerns. This cross-sectional study assessed an undergraduate sample of 1,041 participants from a southeastern American university to estimate an overall prevalence of BDD; investigate differences by gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation; and...

Men's fitness goals are influenced by the lens through which they view their bodies, which is different from the way women view their bodies. Their increased focus on a muscular, hairless body means that they exercise to enhance their physical bulk and are more likely to engage in depilatory behaviors. In addition, the drive for muscularity may be...

The Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative was designed to encourage collaboration among school districts and local community service providers in the provision of behavioral health prevention and early intervention efforts. These efforts would address the physical safety of students as well as provide mental health, violence prevention, and soci...

According to a recent survey of 3,300 girls and women across 10 countries, 90 per cent of all women aged 15 to 64 worldwide want to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance, with body weight ranking the highest (Etcoff, Orbach, Scott, & D’Agostino, 2004). This finding suggests that women’s anxiety about their appearance is a global p...

Violence in the schools is a fundamental concern for students, educators and communities as they collectively address issues that make schools safer. A longitudinal analysis of disciplinary referrals was conducted with a large countywide school district to measure differences across socioeconomic status and school level. These variables proved to b...

In order to investigate the relatively new phenomenon of male body depilation, 118 male university students provided details regarding the reduction and removal of their body hair using a questionnaire developed from the results of structured interviews (Boroughs & Thompson, 2002). It was found that well over one-half of the sample (63.6%) was enga...

Schools are increasingly recognized as a critical venue for the provision of comprehensive behavioral and mental health services for students. Unfortunately, difficulties associated with operating programs in schools often prevent evidence-based practices from being implemented and sustained as intended. In this study, the experiences of school and...

Violence in the schools is a fundamental concern for students, educators and communities as they collectively address issues that make schools safer. A longitudinal analysis of disciplinary referrals was conducted with a large countywide school district to measure differences across socioeconomic status and school level. These variables proved to b...

The Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) Initiative in Pinellas County, FL, emerged as a part of a broader local effort to implement creative educational and mental health programs to support children and families. This initiative focused on capacity building, prevention, and intervention efforts and comprehensive evaluation to address the barrier...

Twenty individual structured interviews were undertaken to investigate several facets of a relatively new phenomenon: the removal of body hair by men. In addition to the interviews, participants were asked to highlight a body figure drawing to illustrate the areas of their bodies where hair was either removed or reduced. It was found that males wer...

This study evaluated the moderating effects of sexual orientation and exercise status on measures of body image and eating disturbance in a sample of men. One hundred and thirty-four men completed measures designed to index a range of body image facets (ideals, actual, partner's preference, overall dissatisfaction), eating disturbance (restrictive...

This report highlights three of the programs funded through the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative in Pinellas County, Florida. These programs are: (1) Think First, an anger management program for high school students; (2) Families and Schools Together (FAST), a parenting program for parents of at-risk elementary students; and (3) On-Campus I...

Body depilation is a relatively new area of research inquiry. Although women in many industrialized cultures have engaged in body depilation for some time, this behavior has been documented only recently in men. While originally thought to be the practice of just a small percentage of men, recent studies suggest that more men engage in body depilat...