Race/Ethnicity as a Moderator of the Association Between Weight-Related Abuse and Disordered Eating.

Abstract

Objectives: Extant research supports a positive relationship between weight-related abuse (WRA) and disordered eating constructs. Individuals who face marginalization and who are more likely to live in larger bodies, such as Black and Hispanic individuals in the United States (U.S.), may be at a heightened risk of WRA. This study is aimed at understanding whether the relationship between WRA and disordered eating constructs varies by race/ethnicity. We hypothesized that individuals from marginalized backgrounds would have differential levels of dietary restraint, body dissatisfaction, and shape/weight overvaluation with increased experiences of WRA compared to non-Hispanic White individuals.

Methods: Two thousand one hundred sixteen undergraduates were recruited from two U.S. universities for a survey-based study assessing psychosocial functioning. Participants completed a demographics questionnaire assessing race/ethnicity, the Weight-Related Abuse Questionnaire assessing WRA experiences, and the Eating Disorders Examination-Questionnaire assessing disordered eating constructs.

Results: Results showed positive relationships between verbal (vWRA) and physical (pWRA) WRA and disordered eating behaviors and cognitions. Moreover, at higher levels of vWRA, Asian and multiracial individuals showed greater dietary restraint compared to White individuals. No other tested models were moderated by race/ethnicity.

Conclusion: WRA is positively associated with disordered eating behaviors and cognitions across racial/ethnic identities, and vWRA may be differentially related to increased dietary restraint in Asian and multiracial individuals compared to White individuals. Further research utilizing intersectional analyses (e.g., examining how this relationship varies according to the intersection of race/ethnicity, gender, and weight status) would help clarify this relationship.