Ethnicity as a protective factor against internalization of a thin ideal and body dissatisfaction.
OBJECTIVE
We examined the potential for ethnicity to moderate the relationships between awareness and internalization of sociocultural ideals of appearance and between internalization and body dissatisfaction.


METHODS
Spanish (n = 100), Mexican American (n = 100), and European American (n = 100) female participants completed measures of sociocultural attitudes and body dissatisfaction. Path analysis using maximum likelihood with robust standard errors tested the relationships across and within ethnic groups.


RESULTS
There was evidence for the mediational effect of internalization on the relationship between awareness and body dissatisfaction. Furthermore, both relationships were significantly stronger for European American women than for Mexican American or Spanish women (the predicted moderator effect).


CONCLUSIONS
Results demonstrate how ethnicity may protect against the development of eating disorder symptoms and suggest that eating disorder prevention should involve denouncing the thin ideal, minimizing appearance as an indicator of value, and emphasizing traits other than appearance as determinants of worth.
Warren
Cortney S
CS
Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.
Gleaves
David H
DH
Cepeda-Benito
Antonio
A
Fernandez
Maria del Carmen
Mdel C
Rodriguez-Ruiz
Sonia
S
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001828:Body Image; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000523:psychology*; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D008960:Models, Psychological; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012306:Risk; D012945:Social Values / Q000208:ethnology*; D013030:Spain; D013851:Thinness; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*