title: Self-esteem, social support, collectivism, and the thin-ideal in Latina undergraduates.
abstract: Thin-ideal internalization (TII) reflects agreement that thinness equates with beauty. TII is a risk factor for body dissatisfaction and eating pathology; this phenomenon and its correlates, however, are just beginning to be studied in Latina undergraduates. This study examined the ability of self-esteem, social support, and collectivism to predict TII in 279 Latina undergraduates. It was hypothesized that higher levels of self-esteem, social support, and collectivism would predict lower levels of TII. Cross-sectional data were analyzed using multiple regression; the model was significant, p<.01. Although both self-esteem and social support negatively correlated with thin-ideal internalization, only self-esteem accounted for a significant amount of variance. Results indicate that investigations of self-esteem as a protective factor against TII in Latina undergraduates would be fruitful, as would how self-esteem and social support affect the relationship between TII and other variables. Implications and limitations are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, Imperial Valley, Calexico, CA 92231, USA. ecordero@sciences.sdsu.edu
authors.forename: Elizabeth D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Cordero
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001504:Beauty; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D012649:Self Concept; D012944:Social Support; D012945:Social Values / Q000208:ethnology*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013851:Thinness / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult