Analysis of Rogers Wood and Petrie's sociocultural model of disordered eating in African-American women

¶ … Body Dissatisfaction, Ethnic Identity, and Disordered Eating Among African-American Women," Rogers Wood & Petrie (2010) apply a sociocultural model of disordered eating to the African-American female population. The authors postulate that because the dominant white culture promotes a beauty ideal of thinness, African-Americans who identify more with the dominant culture and less with African-American culture are at greater risk for developing an eating disorder. The theoretical perspective is linked to identity construction. Both culture and identity are therefore linked to the expression of an eating disorder. However, the authors describe the foundation for the research more in terms of models than in terms of theories. In this case, the approach works because it would have been unnecessary and tangential to discuss social identity construction theories in addition to presenting what is actually a cohesive sociocultural identity model.

The authors clearly state the research problems and the reasons for studying eating disorders in African-American women. Most prior literature focuses on eating disorders in the European-American category, and it has been suggested that the lower prevalence for eating disorders in African-Americans is due to sociocultural variables. Therefore, it makes sense to hypothesize that African-Americans who associate with the dominant European culture (whether socially through peers or through media) would be more susceptible to internalizing European-American norms of beauty. The researchers clearly connect the variables to the research question. More information about beauty norms might have been useful, but it is assumed the reader is familiar with European-American vs. African-American standards of beauty. The authors include confounding variables like self-esteem, but succinctly demonstrate how self-esteem is linked to the tendency to conform to social pressures or norms related to female physical beauty. The research question is specific enough to be relevant, and links directly to the sociocultural model mentioned in the introduction.

The research hypothesis is divided into four main points on p. 143. First, "higher reported levels of societal pressures to be thin would be related to more internalization of societal beauty ideals" (p. 143). Second, "higher levels of ethnic identity would be related to less internalization of society beauty ideals," (p. 143). Third, the "internalization of societal beauty ideals would be directly and positively related to body image concerns," (p. 143). Fourth, "body image concerns would be associated with higher levels of disordered eating," (p. 143). Thus, the authors are able to highlight multiple interrelated variables. All the variables are facets of a single research question, related to the theory of sociocultural identity formation. The authors also clearly state the hypotheses immediately before the methodology section, which is a standard procedure in research report writing.

There are several variables in the research by Rogers Wood & Petrie (2010). Independent variables include sociocultural pressures, measured by the eight-item Perceived Sociocultural Pressure Scale. Ethnic identity is another independent variable in this study, and is measured in part by the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure. One variable that is both independent and dependent (as a mediator variable) is the internalization of societal beauty ideals. This was measured using the 19-item Beliefs About Attractiveness Scale-Revised edition. However, other scales were also used to measure this variable to make the results more robust. Body image concern is another mediator variable that is both independent and dependent in the current study. Disordered eating is a dependent variable in this research and measured with a number of different tools including the BULIT-R. Social desirability is a variable used to measure positive self-perception, and was included as a moderator variable. All of the variables in the study are continuous, measured on scales rather than in categories. This includes the disordered eating variable.

The participants for the research were recruited using online departmental research websites, in-person announcements in classes, and in-person announcements in African-American social groups. The sampling technique was appropriate for the research, although limited to a specific geographic area. Geography likely has a role in culture, values and norms. However, the sample included 322 African-American women undergraduates from five different colleges and universities. The researchers note that two of the universities are historically dominant in European-American class body, and the other three are historically Black schools. The school character and history, plus the individual's selection of that college, have a bearing on the variables like internalization of norms. It would have been helpful to classify whether the universities were urban vs. rural, because social norms and values differ depending on the location of the university. Demographic variables were tabulated, as was body mass index and physical variables.

Many instruments were used to measure the variables, and often more than one instrument was used to measure the same variable. This imparts a high degree of internal validity in the current research. For example, the Perceived Sociocultural Pressure Scale uses a self report survey to test for perceived social pressure. In addition to the Perceived Sociocultural Pressure Scale, the authors used the three-item Media factor from the Perceived Sociocultural Influences on Body Image and Body Change Questionnaire. This tests susceptibility and exposure to media messages related to body. Finally, a Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire was used, as this tests the individual's awareness of the media messages. Each of the survey instruments used has been used in prior literature, which does not necessarily mean the instrument is highly reliable. However, the tools do have a degree of validity in that they have been substantiated. To make up for the fact that the surveys were relatively short, the authors include several to bolster internal validity. Likert scales were common measurement factors, and the data from each scale had its own methods of being analyzed. The authors clearly outline the data analyses used to measure all the variables and test the research hypotheses. Means, standard deviations, skewness, and kurtosis were all measured (p. 145). Form factor analyses and structural equation modeling (SEM) were also used for statistical data analysis.