The sociocultural model of eating disturbance in young women: The effects of personal attributes and family environment

The current study was designed to replicate previous research documenting t he links between exposure to thinness norms and eating pathology and to ext end it by examining the influence of personality and environmental factors hypothesized to be protective. Questionnaire and anthropometric data were p rovided by 249 undergraduate women during a single session. Multiple regres sion analyses were then used to establish that internalization of a "thin i deal" and body dissatisfaction mediated the relation between exposure to th inness norms and eating pathology. Further, personality measures reflecting nonconformity, self-esteem, and perceived shape, as well as the social inf luences of family, moderated the links between exposure to thinness norms a nd eating pathology. Nonconformity and low family pressures to control weig ht moderated the relation between exposure to thinness norms and internaliz ation of such norms; perceived shape moderated the relation between thin-id eal internalization and body dissatisfaction; self esteem moderated the rel ation between body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. These findings su ggest that family environment and personal attributes may play key roles in the development of eating disorders, with potentially important implicatio ns for preventive interventions.