Anorexia nervosa in blacks and hispanics

Abstract

Anorexia Nervosa (A.N.) was diagnosed in a group of seven black and his- panic female adolescents, constituting 5% of the patients treated for this con- dition during a 12 year period at Children's Hospital National Medical Center (CHNMC). Although A.N. had existed for an average of one year, the correct diagnosis had been establishedprior to coming to CHNMC in only half of the patients. The characteristics of these patients as well as the course of their ill- ness are described and a hypothesis is developed relating to the emergence of A. N. among minorities. Young female members of the Black and Hispanic middle class may develop A.N.: the prevailing stereotype of the white upper middle class victim may conspire against early recognition.