Sociocultural and Identity Predictors of Body Dissatisfaction in Ethnically Diverse College Women
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-20-2015
Publication Title
Body Image
Volume
16
First page number:
32
Last page number:
40
Abstract
Emerging research suggests that ethnic identity and American identity are associated with mental health in ethnic minorities and European Americans, respectively. Furthermore, although ethnic identity is associated with diminished body dissatisfaction in minority women, the relationship between American identity and body dissatisfaction is unexplored in all ethnic groups. Accordingly, this study examined the relationships among ethnic identity, American identity, thin-ideal internalization, pressures for thinness, and body dissatisfaction in 1018 ethnically diverse college women. Ethnic identity negatively predicted body dissatisfaction for African Americans, and attenuated the relationship between pressures for thinness and body dissatisfaction for African Americans and Asian Americans, but not European Americans or Latina Americans. Results for American identity were inconclusive. Findings suggest that ethnic identity may be a protective factor against eating pathology for Asian American and African American women.
Keywords
Ethnic identityAmerican identityThin-ideal internalizationPressures for thinnessBody dissatisfactionEthnicity
Disciplines
Social Psychology
Language
English
Repository Citation
Rakhkovskaya, L. M.,
Warren, C. S.
(2015).
Sociocultural and Identity Predictors of Body Dissatisfaction in Ethnically Diverse College Women.
Body Image, 16
32-40.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2015.10.004