Sex Role Conflict, Social Desirability, and Eating-Disorder Attitudes and Behaviors

Abstract

The relationship of conflict between sex role ideology and sex role orientation with eating-disorder behaviors and attitudes was examined. American participants were 321 female college students who completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory (Bem, 1974), Sex Role Ideology Scale (Kalin & Tilby, 1978), and Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI; Garner, Olmsted, & Polivy, 1983). The results indicated that conflict between ideology and self-perception had little effect on responses to the Inventory. Instead, students with higher levels of self-rated social desirability and lower levels of masculinity reported higher prevalence of eating-disorder behaviors and attitudes. Analyses of sex role orientation data revealed that participants categorized as undifferentiated had the most pathological responses to the EDI. Overall, the results suggested that social desirability and masculinity, more than sex role orientation or conflict, are strongly related to eating-disorder behavior, perhaps because of a third mediating factor.

Eating disorder symptomatology and gender role orientation

“…lower levels of ED symptoms (Lancelot & Kaslow, 1994;Murnen & Smolak, 1997). Although results reported in the literature for nonclinical populations are rather contradictory (Cantrell & Ellis, 1991;Johnson et al, 1996), they provide some indication that in normal populations, too, femininity is not necessarily associated with increased levels of eating behavior problems (Meyer et al, 2001).…”

“…Cantrell and Ellis (1991) reported higher levels of ED symptoms in masculine-typed women, whereas Johnson, Brems, and Fischer (1996) found masculinity to be negatively related to disturbed eating behavior. Meyer, Blissett, and Oldfield (2001) reported a positive association between femininity and disturbed eating behavior only for homosexual males and females but not for heterosexuals.…”

Comorbidity of anorexia nervosa in a male patient with congenital hypogonadism: case report

“…One of the accepted opinions is that cases of AN during adolescence have difficulties in their identity formation stage, rejecting it, preferring to have a child's body (1,2,(13)(14)(15)(16). It has been reported that in male AN cases homosexual and asexual behavior and disorders related to sexual roles are more common than on average in society (17,18). In our case, it could be thought that symptoms caused by medical problems, such as the failure to develop secondary sexual characteristics and the absence of ejaculation and erection caused difficulties in the sexual identity formation stage, leading to the patient refusing to grow up and not wanting to eat.…”

Biological Gender, Sexual Orientation and Gender Role in Eating Disorders

“…The authors hypothesize that, unlike the masculine attitude, femininity is an important risk factor in the onset of an eating disorder, and that previous findings among homosexual groups may have been mystified by levels of femininity. Similarly, Johnson et al (1996) found students with higher levels of self-rated social desirability and lower levels of masculinity reported higher levels of eating problems. Regarding clinical populations, research on associations between eating disturbances and gender role orientation also provides similar results.…”