Although investigators have postulated that the thin ideal for women espoused in the media is related to the high rates of eating disorders among females, little research has examined the relation between media exposure and eating pathology. This study assessed the relation of media exposure to eating disorder symptoms and tested whether gender-role endorsement, ideal-body stereotype internalization, and body satisfaction mediated this effect. In data from 238 female undergraduates, structural equation modeling revealed a direct effect of media exposure on eating disorder symptoms. Furthermore, mediational linkages were found for gender-role endorsement, ideal body stereotype internalization, and body satisfaction. The results support the assertion that internalization of sociocultural pressures mediate the adverse effects of the thin ideal.

This study investigates a metaphorical account of bulimia that proposes that bulimics lack a clearly defined sense of self, and subsequently utilize their physical bodies as a means of self‐definition and regulation. Three major aspects of this perspective were assessed: identity disturbance; use of the binge and purge as means of emotional regulation; and sensitivity to interpersonal contact. Differences among bulimics, binge eaters, and normal controls were explored. Bulimics reported greater amounts of identity confusion, enmeshment, and overall instability in self‐concept than normal controls and binge eaters. The binge led to an escape from self‐awareness for bulimics, and the purge served to manage negative affect. Bulimics also showed greater sensitivity to interpersonal contact with positive people, and with their mother than both binge eaters and controls. Implications of the findings are discussed as well as future directions for research. © 1993 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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