The Roles of Ethnicity and Culture in the Development of Eating Disturbance and Body Dissatisfaction: A Meta-Analytic Review

This meta-analysis involved 35 studies examining eating disturbance and body dissatisfaction in white and non-white populations and the role of acculturation in the development of eating-related psychopathology. While the role of acculturation in predisposing non-whites to eating disorders remains t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical psychology review 2001-06, Vol.21 (4), p.521-551
Main Authors: Wildes, Jennifer E, Emery, Robert E, Simons, Anne D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
African Americans - psychology
African Americans - statistics & numerical data
Aged
Anorexia Nervosa - ethnology
Anorexia Nervosa - psychology
Body dissatisfaction
Body Image
Bulimia - ethnology
Bulimia - psychology
Child
Cross-Cultural Comparison
Cultural Characteristics
Culture
Databases, Bibliographic
Eating disorders
Ethnic Groups - psychology
Ethnic Groups - statistics & numerical data
Ethnicity
European Continental Ancestry Group - psychology
European Continental Ancestry Group - statistics & numerical data
Feeding and Eating Disorders - epidemiology
Feeding and Eating Disorders - ethnology
Feeding and Eating Disorders - psychology
Female
Humans
Male
Meta-analysis
Middle Aged
Obesity - ethnology
Obesity - psychology
Personality Inventory
Self Concept
Socioeconomic Factors
Thinness - ethnology
Thinness - psychology
United States - epidemiology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This meta-analysis involved 35 studies examining eating disturbance and body dissatisfaction in white and non-white populations and the role of acculturation in the development of eating-related psychopathology. While the role of acculturation in predisposing non-whites to eating disorders remains to be determined, mean effect sizes indicate that whites report more eating disturbance than non-whites. Differences are greatest when studies compare black and white college samples on measures of subclinical eating pathology, like dietary restraint, ideal body shape, and body dissatisfaction. They are weakest when non-clinic populations and clinical forms of eating disturbance, like bulimia nervosa, are examined. These findings suggest that the current literature may be incorrect in its view that subclinical and clinical forms of eating disturbance represent the poles of a single continuum. In addition, they call into question the belief that SES influences the development of eating pathology.
ISSN:0272-7358
1873-7811
DOI:10.1016/S0272-7358(99)00071-9