PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND SOCIETAL CORRELATES OF BULIMIC SYMPTOMATOLOGY AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICAN COLLEGE-WOMEN

Although eating disorders have been the focus of considerable research , African American women generally have been overlooked, despite recen t investigations indicating they also are at risk. In this study, the authors examined physical, psychological, and societal correlates of b ulimic symptomatology in African American college women. Regression an alysis revealed that body mass, body dissatisfaction, and low self-est eem were significantly related to bulimic symptomatology, accounting f or 29% of the variance. Internalization of U.S. societal beliefs about attractiveness, level of identification with White culture, and level of depression, however, were not significant predictors of bulimic sy mptoms in the regression equation. The findings are discussed in the c ontext of sociocultural approaches to understanding eating disorders. Implications for counseling interventions as well as directions for fu ture research are provided.