Body image disturbance in young North European and East Asian women with and without eating disorders in Australia and in Singapore

✍ Scribed by Nerissa Li-Wey Soh; Stephen Touyz; Timothy Dobbins; Lois Surgenor; Simon Clarke; Michael Kohn; Ee Lian Lee; Vincent Leow; Elizabeth Rieger; Ken Eng Khean Ung; Garry Walter

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 106 KB
• Volume: 16
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1072-4133
• DOI: 10.1002/erv.836

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Objective

To investigate body image disturbance in young women with and without an eating disorder (ED) across two different ethnic groups in Australia and Singapore.

Method

The relationship of body image disturbance to cultural orientation and socio‐cultural factors was analysed in 154 women with and without an ED. Participants were from the following backgrounds: North European Australian, East Asian Australian, Singaporean Chinese (SC) and North European expatriates in Singapore.

Results

Irrespective of cultural group, women with an ED had similar body dissatisfaction. Among those without an ED, SC women reported greater body dissatisfaction than all other cultural groups. Finally, within each cultural group, ED participants reported significantly higher body dissatisfaction than their non‐ED counterparts with the exception of SC women where there was no difference.

Discussion

Socio‐cultural factors other than body image may play more important roles in SC women's ED psychopathology. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.