Eating attitudes and behaviours in South african adolescents and young adults.
We examined the presence and severity of disordered eating attitudes and behaviours in a group of 895 South Africans. The Eating Attitude Test-26 (EAT-26), the Bulimic Investigatory Test, Edinburgh (BITE) and the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSE), were administered to high-school and college students (515 White, 126 Black, and 254 'Coloured'). There were few differences between these three groups on measures of eating disorder pathology and self-esteem. A small number of participants (3.5%) were identified as at 'high risk' for an eating disorder as shown by scores in the clinical range for both the EAT-26 and BITE. Weight, self-esteem and age were predictors for this subgroup. This study suggests that ethnicity per se may not 'protect' against the development of disordered eating attitudes and behaviours in nonwestern black populations. These findings remain tentative until future survey studies employ interviews to confirm eating disorder diagnosis.
le Grange
Daniel
D
Department of Psychiatry, Section for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Chicago, IL 60637, USA. legrange@uchicago.edu
Louw
Johann
J
Russell
Basil
B
Nel
Tanya
T
Silkstone
Christine
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012307:Risk Factors; D012649:Self Concept; D013019:South Africa; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*; D001741:Black or African American