Moderation Effects of Ethnic-Racial Identity on Disordered Eating and Ethnicity Among Asian and Caucasian Americans.

ABSTRACT: Background: The current study was designed to examine whether ethnic-racial identity (ERI) moderated the relationship between disordered eating and primary ethnic identification. Methods: Three hundred and ninety-eight undergraduate women (M _age = 19.95, SD = 3.09) were recruited from a large university in Hawai'i. Participants completed the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q), the ERI measure, and reported their primary ethnicity as an index of ethnicity. Results: There was a significant correlation between eating concerns and centrality, r ₍₃₅₇₎ = 0.127, p < 0.05. Moderation analyses indicated that only ERI centrality moderated the predictive effect of ethnicity on the importance of eating concerns, b = 0.05, t ₍₃₄₇₎ = 2.37, p = 0.018. Conclusions: The results suggest that the relationship between self-reported primary ethnicity and EDEQ scores is greater when ethnicity is more central to the individual's identity or when the in-group affect is important to an individual. Findings underscore the need for further research on the underlying mechanisms that account for the differing ways that ERI may affect eating concerns.

SUBMITTER: Obleada KT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8085433 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature