Prevalence of Disordered Eating Behaviors and Bulimia Nervosa in a Sample of Mexican American Female College Students

✍ Scribed by Regan Lester; Trent A. Petrie

• Publisher: American Counseling Association
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 561 KB
• Volume: 26
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0883-8534
• DOI: 10.1002/j.2161-1912.1998.tb00195.x

✦ Synopsis

Disordered eating behaviors and bulimia nervosa were examined in a sample of female Mexican Americans. Results showed that 1.4% to 4.3% could be classified with bulimia. Just over 1 l o ! indicated regular binge eating; dieting and exercising were the primary techniques used for weight control. Implications for intervention are briefly discussed.

Eating disorders and their psychological correlates have been extensively studied in the United States (e.g.. . Unfortunately, researchers have focused primarily on White women, almost to the neglect of other ethnic and racial groups . This lack of focus may be due in part to the assumption that eating disorders among American minority individuals are rare. has argued that this assumption is more a reflection of racial-ethnic stereotyping, Western ethnocentrism, and the lack of professionals' experience in working with minority women than an accurate representation of the data. Indeed, researchers have provided evidence that anorexia and bulimia nervosa do occur among racial and ethnic minorities (