Women's Stress, Body Dissatisfaction, and Binge Eating

Research suggests that the associations between femininity, body image and eating disorders are intricate. How these constructs are linked to each other still needs to be determined. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of these links, examining the mediational relationship among these constructs. Additionally, the prediction that bulimia and binge eating disorder symptoms have a similar origin was tested and compared. A total of 355 female college students (ages 18 to 25) completed a set of questionnaires that assessed femininity, feminine gender role stress, body dissatisfaction, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. Results showed that body dissatisfaction mediates the relationship between femininity or feminine gender role stress with bulimia symptoms, as well as the relationship between feminine gender role stress and binge eating disorder symptoms. The findings also suggest that body dissatisfaction related to feminine gender role stress may contribute to higher levels of binge eating disorder symptoms.

Autorentext

Nancy Romero teaches psychology at Lone Star College, Texas. Her interests are eating disorders, obesity and stress. Dr. Angela Scarpa is a licensed psychologist, professor at Virginia Tech and director of its autism clinic. Her research includes autism treatments; interactions of biology and social experiences in psychopathology development.