Although the research on disordered eating and body image dissatisfaction among European American women is burgeoning, knowledge about eating disorder (ED) symptomatology among African American women is still limited. In order to provide effective treatment and prevention programs, it is imperative to investigate risk and protective factors of ED symptomatology among diverse groups of women. Racist and sexist discrimination have been conceptualized by scholars as putative predictors of disordered eating and body image dissatisfaction, whereas positive cultural and gender identities have been postulated as potential protective factors against ED symptomatology and body image dissatisfaction among African American women. Accordingly, the purpose of the present study was threefold: (1) to examine the relations between racist discrimination, sexist discrimination, ethnic identity, feminist identity, ED symptomatology and body image dissatisfaction; (2) to investigate whether discrimination predicts ED symptomatology and body image dissatisfaction; and (3) to determine whether ethnic and feminist identities moderate (i.e., buffer) the relations between the proposed predictor and criterion variables within a sample (N = 302) of university-affiliated, African American women. The primary hypotheses were as follows: (1) higher levels of discrimination would predict higher levels of ED symptomatology and body image dissatisfaction; (2) higher levels of ethnic identity and feminist identity would predict lower levels of disordered eating and body image dissatisfaction; and (3) ethnic and feminist identities would individually and collectively moderate the relations between discrimination and ED symptomatology and between discrimination and body image dissatisfaction. As expected, higher levels of ethnogender discrimination significantly predicted higher levels of ED symptomatology. Unexpectedly, higher levels of ethnogender discrimination did not predict higher levels of body image dissatisfaction. As anticipated, higher levels of ethnic identity and feminist identity significantly predicted lower levels of body image dissatisfaction. Unexpectedly, higher levels of ethnic and feminist identity did not predict lower levels of disordered eating. Finally, neither ethnic nor feminist identity was found to moderate the discrimination-ED symptomatology relation or the discrimination-body image dissatisfaction relation. Putative explanations for the aforementioned findings are offered as are implications for research, practice and prevention.

Fully revised to reflect the DSM-5, the second edition of The Oxford Handbook of Eating Disorders features the latest research findings, applications, and approaches to understanding eating disorders. Including foundational topics alongside practical specifics, like literature reviews and clinical applications, this handbook is essential for scientists, clinicians, and students alike.

The increased prevalence of body dissatisfaction and eating disordered behaviors (EDBs) among African American women wairants further examination of critical factors that may contribute to this recent trend. This study sought to investigate whether ethnic identity, spirituality, and internalization of the thin ideal would be associated with decreased body dissatisfaction and EDBs in a sample of 55 African American college women. Higher scores on meaning in life were negatively associated with body dissatisfaction. Spiritual transcendence was negatively associated with internalization of the thin ideal. Both body dissatisfaction and internalization of the thin ideal were positively associated with EDBs.

The purpose of this narrative study was to understand the personal, social, and educational experiences of Black women who have experienced diagnosed eating disorders (EDs) during their adolescent years. Through their voices, this research sought to understand the development of EDs during adolescence, access to treatment services, and prevention and intervention of EDs as provided by community-based services, in effect, exploring the consequence of ethnic identity on the experiences of EDs in Black females. Adolescence marks a critical period in the understanding of eating pathology. What remains to be fully understood is the issue of EDs in the Black population and their particular impression on adolescent girls, as empirical studies are limited and antecedents may vary. The role of ethnicity may be a powerful consideration within the context of eating pathology. According to research, the degree of ethnicity and other sociocultural variables may either inhibit or influence ED onset (Flowers, Levesque, & Fischer, 2012). Such variables may play integral roles in body perception which have the potential to advance disordered eating (maladaptive) habits in individuals (Alegria et al., 2007; Bryla, 2003; Talleyrand, 2010; Taylor et al., 2013; Thatcher & Rhea, 2003). Ethnicity could also be a factor in treatment misdiagnosis or the lack of treatment seeking altogether (Cachelin, Rebeck, Veisel, & Striegel-Moore, 2001). Thus, this study sought to answer three broad research questions through participants’ stories: (a) How do young Black women describe their experiences with eating disorders? (b) How do their stories portray the influence of sociocultural elements and body issue images related to their development of an eating disorder? (c) How do these young women describe how they gained support for dealing with these eating disorders? Findings produced three major themes: (a) early triggers on self-concept and body image forged disordered eating as means of control, (b) social outcomes that delayed intervention, and (c) posttraumatic renaissance in the making. Four results emerged: (a) adolescence for these three women of color was a playground for the onset of EDs when the co-influence of psychosocial comorbidities, stress from trauma, and other salient factors are present, worsening self-esteem; (b) cultural and ethnic differences heighten body image concerns and ED symptomatology; (c) control appears to be the goal of the game, not food; and (d) racially stereotyped thinking exasperated disordered eating practices hindering early intervention. Recommendations for action are suggested for schools and community services, clinicians, and parents. Recommendations for further research are also provided.

Narrative Journeys of Young Black Women with Eating Disorders: A Hidden Community among Us explores how the realities of three young black women who have experienced eating disorders since childhood were transformed, discussing the larger implications of disordered eating in underrepresented populations. People of all ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic backgrounds are susceptible to their grips, yet black women and children are experiencing eating disorders and suffering in silence due to shame and stigma. Due to barriers such as the conventional thought that eating disorders do not occur in the black community, they are often not acknowledged, discussed, or treated properly. Stephanie Hawthorne argues that these women’s lived experiences substantiate the need for culturally sensitive and inclusive prevention, intervention, and care when it comes to mental health, and offers recommendations to schools, clinicians, parents, and adolescents to accomplish this goal. Scholars of communication, mental health, race studies, education, and medicine will find this book particularly useful.

Abstract: Traditionally, body image disturbance and eating disorders have been viewed as a European American female phenomenon but a growing body of evidence suggests that women of color, including African American women, may also be susceptible. The present study investigated the relationships between African and European American women's socioculturally developed attitudes about being attractive and body image, disordered eating, and overall self-esteem. The two attitudes studied were: (1) to be beautiful you must be thin and, (2) to be beautiful you must be White. The second attitude was examined specifically in the African American sample, and was measured using the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Participants, 131 African American and 165 European American female college students completed the IAT, Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire, Body Esteem Scale, Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire-Appearance Evaluation subscale, Body Shape Questionnaire-Revised, Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale, Eating Attitudes Test, and a demographic questionnaire. Results supported the hypothesis that African American women exhibit more positive body images, less disordered eating characteristics, and higher overall self-esteem. As expected, analyses suggested that the race differences on body image, disordered eating and self-esteem were mediated by participants' beliefs that being thin is the ideal. However, the results also revealed variance in body satisfaction and disordered eating within both racial groups. Similar to European Americans, African Americans who espoused the thin ideal were more likely to be less satisfied with their bodies, to engage in disordered eating and to report lower self-esteem. Also, African Americans who showed the clearest implicit preference for European American appearance were reported greater dissatisfaction with their bodies and lower self-esteem. Finally, results only partially supported the hypothesis that greater body preoccupation would be associated with greater disordered eating and lower self-esteem in women with greater body dissatisfaction. The hypothesis was only supported with European American women when predicting self-esteem. Overall, the present study showed that similar sociocultural attitudes about beauty may affect African and European American women's body image and that the levels of body image disturbance and eating concerns in the African American community will continue to grow as these European American thin ideals flourish.

The first of its kind, this edited volume provides in-depth, culturally sensitive material intended for addressing the unique concerns of Black women with eating disorders in addition to comprehensive discussions and treatment guidelines for this population. The contributing authors—all of whom are Black professionals providing direct care to Black women—offer a range of perspectives to help readers understand the whole experience of their Black female clients. This includes not only discussion of their clients’ physical health but also of their emotional lives and the ways in which the stresses of racism, discrimination, trauma, and adverse childhood experiences can contribute to disordered eating. Through a wealth of diverse voices and stories, chapters boldly tackle issues such as stereotypes and acculturative stress. Clinicians of any race will gain new tools for assessing, diagnosing, and treating disordered eating in Black women and will be empowered to provide better care for their clients.