| This study investigated media and cultural influences in the development of eating disorders in African-American middle school and early high school age females living in an urban area. Participants were recruited via word of mouth through urban churches, community organizations, and neighborhoods. Results indicated that: (a) mainstream sociocultural identification was associated with more eating disorder (ED) behavior in African-American females, (b) cultural ethnic identification was not significantly associated with ED behavior in African-American females, (c) mainstream sociocultural identification, cultural ethnic identification, and body dissatisfaction (BD) significantly predicted ED behavior, and (d) cultural ethnic identification was positively correlated with mainstream sociocultural identification. The results are discussed in regards to their implication for ED prevention methods in African-American girls and future research. |
