The impact of racial stereotypes on eating disorder recognition.

OBJECTIVE: Eating disorders are commonly believed to affect Caucasian women more so than other women. The authors examined whether participants recognize disturbed eating symptoms to a lesser degree in an African American or Hispanic female compared with a Caucasian female.
METHOD: A sample of 160 undergraduate students of different ethnic backgrounds read a passage about an adolescent girl who displayed eating disorder symptoms. Participants received one of three passages; the passages differed only regarding the girl's race (African American, Caucasian, or Hispanic). Participants completed questionnaires used to reveal possible racial stereotypes about eating disorders.
RESULTS: The study found that the race of the adolescent girl had a significant impact on detection of disturbed eating patterns, such that participants recognized the eating disorder more when they read about a Caucasian girl than when they read about a minority girl (Hispanic or African American). DISCUSSION: The results have implications for public awareness of eating disorders, as well as clinical implications for work with eating disorder patients from various ethnic backgrounds. Copyright 2002 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.