Internalization of the Thin Ideal as a Predictor of Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating in African, African-American, and Afro-Caribbean Female College Students

Abstract

This study, conducted at a historically Black university, evaluated the impact of awareness and internalization of the Western thin ideal of beauty on body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and bulimia in African-American, African, and Caribbean women. The relationship between internalization of the thin ideal and disordered eating was moderated by ethnicity, with the relationship significant only for the African-American group. Internalization functioned as a mediator between awareness of the thin ideal and both drive for thinness and bulimia, but only for the African-American group. These results suggest that the sociocultural model may not be as valuable in predicting eating disturbance in women from non-Western societies.