The Sociocultural Model of Eating Disturbance in Young Women: The Effects of Personal Attributes and Family Environment

Abstract

The current study was designed to replicate previous research documenting the links between exposure to thinness norms and eating pathology and to extend it by examining the influence of personality and environmental factors hypothesized to be protective. Questionnaire and anthropometric data were provided by 249 undergraduate women during a single session. Multiple regression analyses were then used to establish that internalization of a “thin ideal” and body dissatisfaction mediated the relation between exposure to thinness norms and eating pathology. Further, personality measures reflecting nonconformity, self-esteem, and perceived shape, as well as the social influences of family, moderated the links between exposure to thinness norms and eating pathology. Nonconformity and low family pressures to control weight moderated the relation between exposure to thinness norms and internalization of such norms; perceived shape moderated the relation between thin-ideal internalization and body dissatisfaction; self-esteem moderated the relation between body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. These findings suggest that family environment and personal attributes may play key roles in the development of eating disorders, with potentially important implications for preventive interventions.