Sociocultural attitudes as a moderator of the relations between negative eating and weight messages from family members and Latinas' body image shame

Abstract

Research shows that family members are important for young women's body image. Using the sociocultural model, I explored associations between negative eating and weight messages from fathers, mothers, and sisters and Latinas' internalized and externalized body image shame and the moderating role of Latinas' sociocultural attitudes (i.e., internalization of US Western beauty standards) on those associations. I conducted hierarchical linear regression analyses and found positive associations between negative eating and weight messages from fathers and mothers and Latinas' internalized body image shame. Additionally, I found positive associations between negative eating and weight messages from fathers, mothers, and sisters and Latinas' externalized body image shame. Lastly, Latinas' sociocultural attitudes was positively associated with both internalized and externalized body image shame, but was not a significant moderator. My findings reveal that family members' negative comments are harmful for Latinas' body image. Further, my findings have important clinical implications for practitioners working with Latinx families.