Factor Analysis of EDI-3 Eating Disorder Risk Subscales Among African American Women

Abstract

This study examined the factor structure of the eating disorder subscales of the Eating Disorder Inventory–3 among African American and European American women. Confirmatory factor analyses of the three-factor model proposed by Garner were conducted separately for each group. Confirmatory factor analyses results indicated the three-factor model was an adequate fit for the European American sample, but only a mediocre fit in the African American sample. A follow-up exploratory factor analyses using the African American data produced a pattern matrix consisting of four factors (drive for thinness, bulimia, body dissatisfaction, and body satisfaction). These results indicated that while drive for thinness and bulimia appeared to capture the intended constructs in the African American sample, the third factor was divided into body dissatisfaction and body satisfaction.

Internalization of beauty ideals and eating pathology in Black and White women

“…Despite lower endorsement overall, both drive for thinness and fear of fat are still found to be significantly associated with disordered eating in Black women (Abrams et al, 1992;Gordon et al, 2010;Rothstein et al, 2017). This may be because high drive for thinness is already indicative of potential problematic behaviors to maintain a slender ideal, regardless of cultural background.…”

“…Some older studies have found no difference in drive for thinness or fear of fat between Black and White women, and that Black women actually reported slightly higher levels of drive for thinness in some cases (Shaw, Ramirez, Trost, Randall, & Stice, 2004;Wilfley et al, 1996). However, research has primarily shown that Black women report lower levels of drive for thinness (Abrams et al, 1992;Edwards-Hewitt & Gray, 1993;Gordon et al, 2010;Kelly, Mitchell, et al, 2012;Petersons et al, 2000;Rothstein, Sbrocco, & Carter, 2017;Rucker & Cash, 1992), as well as less fear of fat or weight gain (Abrams et al, 1992;Fujioka, Ryan, Agel, Legaspi, & Toohey, 2009;Gray et al, 1987;Rucker & Cash, 1992), than White women.…”

“…It is also important to consider the potential influence of current weight or body size, as research has shown that Black women consistently have a higher average body mass index (BMI) than White women (Abrams et al, 1992;Cachelin et al, 2000;Edwards-Hewitt & Gray, 1993;Javier et al, 2016;Overstreet et al, 2010;Petersons et al, 2000;Quick & Byrd-Brenner, 2014;Rakhokovskaya & Warren, 2016;Rothstein et al, 2017). Furthermore, research suggests that other socioeconomic variables (e.g., level of education, income, wealth) account for racial differences in BMI (Insaf, Shaw, Yucel, Chasan-Taber, & Strogatz, 2014) and, therefore, may influence the racial differences in drive for thinness or fear of fat.…”

“…and studied attitudinal symptoms of eating pathology, it is particularly important to examine how it relates to eating pathology in Black women. While some older studies have found no differences between Black and White women's body dissatisfaction (Caldwell, Brownell, & Wilfley, 1997;Shaw et al, 2004), many studies have found that Black women report significantly lower body dissatisfaction than White women or other women of color (Fitzsimmons-Craft & Bardone-Cone, 2012;Gordon et al, 2010;Javier et al, 2016;Kelly, Mitchell, et al, 2012;Petersons et al, 2000;Rakhokovskaya & Warren, 2016;Rothstein et al, 2017). Meta-analyses have also shown that, compared to White women, Black women reported greater body satisfaction (d = 0.28; Roberts, Cash, Feingold, & Johnson, 2006) and lower levels of body dissatisfaction (d = .29; Grabe & Hyde, 2006) across studies.…”

“…Similar to measures of behavioral symptoms, wellestablished measures of attitudinal symptoms were primarily developed and validated with White women, often reflecting desire to be thin, fear of weight gain, and shape and weight concerns (Fairburn & Beglin, 1994;Garner et al, 1983). Although several studies have since evaluated the validity and factor structure of these measures with Black women ( Bardone-Cone & Boyd, 2007;Kashubeck-West et al, 2013;Kelly, Cotter, et al, 2012;Kelly, Mitchell, et al, 2012;Rothstein et al, 2017), it raises the question as to whether the measures themselves are culturally-biased.…”