Abstract
The present cross-sectional study examined whether mindfulness moderated the association between eating disorder cognition and eating disorder behaviors among Asian American, Black American, and White American female college students in the United States. Participants (N = 463, age range = 18–25 years) completed self-report measures online. Results revealed that mindfulness moderated the association between eating disorder cognition and eating disorder behavior in the White American group, but not in Asian American or Black American samples. Future research should replicate these differential findings across ethnic groups and investigate the factors that may contribute to this group difference.
Highlights
In contrast to previous thinking, disordered eating concerns are known to be pervasive across all ages, genders, ethnic backgrounds, and sexual orientations in many industrialized nations (Grabe and Hyde, 2006; Mitchison et al, 2014; Lipson and Sonneville, 2017)
112 participants were excluded from the present study because they self-identified as either Latina (n = 60), Pacific Islander (n = 1), other (n = 11), or bicultural (n = 40)
An additional 29 individuals were removed from the study because they failed to self-report their weight and height for computing their body mass index (BMI)
Summary
In contrast to previous thinking, disordered eating concerns are known to be pervasive across all ages, genders, ethnic backgrounds, and sexual orientations in many industrialized nations (Grabe and Hyde, 2006; Mitchison et al, 2014; Lipson and Sonneville, 2017). Prevalence rates of anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge eating disorder (BED) in Asian American women were found to be comparable to those in White American women (e.g., Nicdao et al, 2007; Marques et al, 2011). Sexual minority women endorse fewer compensatory behaviors than heterosexual women (e.g., Lipson and Sonneville, 2017)
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