title: Comparative study of eating-related attitudes and psychological traits between Israeli-Arab and -Jewish schoolgirls.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aims of the study were to examine weight concerns, dieting and eating behaviours in a group of Israeli-Arab schoolgirls as compared with Israeli-Jewish schoolgirls, as well as to investigate the reliability of the Arabic (Palestinian) version of the eating disorder inventory-2 (EDI-2).
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample consisted of 2548 Israeli schoolgirls, including 1885 Jewish and 663 Arab adolescents ranging in age from 12 to 18. The study was conducted in 1998-2003 from urban and rural residential settings in the northern part of Israel. The (EDI-2) was the assessment tool used, yielding scores on 11 sub-scales.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Israeli-Arab schoolgirls scored significantly higher than the Israeli-Jewish schoolgirls in most EDI-2 sub-scales. In addition, the sub-scale inter-item consistency of the translated Arabic (Palestinian version) of the EDI-2 was found to be reliable.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The drive to be thin found among Israeli Arab schoolgirls is not reflected in their small number of ED clinic referrals. These discrepancies are discussed in light of the socio-cultural changes currently taking place in the Israeli Arab population due to the influence of Western-oriented life in Israel.
authors.affiliation: Eating Disorders Clinic, Psychiatric Division, Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel. latzer@zahav.net.il
authors.forename: Yael
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Latzer
authors.forename: Orna
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Tzischinsky
authors.forename: Nabil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Geraisy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D018912:Arabs; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires