Body dissatisfaction, need for social approval, and eating disturbances among Japanese and American college women

A total of 171 Japanese and 144 American college women (90% European Americ an, 4% African American, 4% Asian or Asian American, and 2% other) complete d the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the Body Dissatisfaction Subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI), and the Revised Martin-Larsen Approval Motivation Scale (MLAM). Japanese women expressed the greater dissatisfact ion with their body but no more eating disturbances than American women. Th e need for social approval predicted the Japanese women's eating disturbanc es after controlling for the effects of body fatness (BMI) and body dissati sfaction. BMI was a significant predictor of eating disturbances for Americ an women but not for Japanese women. The results were discussed in terms of their implications for cross-cultural similarities and differences in corr elates of disordered eating.