Disordered eating and body image in Chinese and Caucasian students in the United States.

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluated the roles of exposure to Western culture and language choice and gender differences in disordered eating symptoms in Chinese and Caucasian students.

METHOD

796 Caucasian and 194 Chinese students completed measures of eating disorder symptoms, body image, and body esteem. Participants chose their survey language (English or Chinese).

RESULTS

Caucasian women had higher levels of body dissatisfaction than Chinese women. Women of both ethnicities reported more disordered eating symptoms and body dissatisfaction than men; these differences were smaller for the Chinese group. Differences emerged on certain dimensions of body esteem between Chinese women who responded in Chinese and those who responded in English.

CONCLUSIONS

There were few differences between ethnicities, suggesting that mechanisms other than Western culture play a role. Cultural variables may account for the degree of intra-ethnic gender differences. Individuals who complete studies in their native language may differ from their English-responding counterparts in areas of body esteem.