The Influence of Culture and Acculturation on Binge Eating Disorder in Latina Women

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Vela, A. (2014). The Influence of Culture and Acculturation on Binge Eating Disorder in Latina Women. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

The goal of this study was to gain an improved understanding of binge eating disorder (BED) in Latina women by creating a rich description of their symptoms and related experiences, while also considering the influence of culture and acculturation. This research is important because empirical literature indicates that Latinas are under-diagnosed and under-treated for BED and to date, there are no published studies examining individuals' self-reported symptoms and experiences. The current study created a picture of BED in Latinas by examining demographic and psychological variables such as distress and depression, as well as participants' self-reports of what they eat during a binge, the setting in which their binges occur, and their experience of loss of control. To consider potential influences of culture and acculturation, characteristics were compared between English-speaking Latina women, Spanish-speaking Latina women and English-speaking White women. The current study found that Latina women are very similar to White women across the demographic and psychological variables, as well as in their experience of loss of control. However, the Latina women were descriptively different in the foods consumed during binges and the settings in which they binge. The major finding from the current study was that Latina women tend to binge on foods such as chicken in the context of normal family meals, while White women tend to binge on snack foods such as pretzels, alone, at night. The implications of this study may be useful in improving culturally appropriate diagnosis and treatments of BED for Latinas.

Details
Author

Vela, Alyssa

Title

The Influence of Culture and Acculturation on Binge Eating Disorder in Latina Women

Physical Description

1 online resource (54 pages) : PDF

Date

2014

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

The goal of this study was to gain an improved understanding of binge eating disorder (BED) in Latina women by creating a rich description of their symptoms and related experiences, while also considering the influence of culture and acculturation. This research is important because empirical literature indicates that Latinas are under-diagnosed and under-treated for BED and to date, there are no published studies examining individuals' self-reported symptoms and experiences. The current study created a picture of BED in Latinas by examining demographic and psychological variables such as distress and depression, as well as participants' self-reports of what they eat during a binge, the setting in which their binges occur, and their experience of loss of control. To consider potential influences of culture and acculturation, characteristics were compared between English-speaking Latina women, Spanish-speaking Latina women and English-speaking White women. The current study found that Latina women are very similar to White women across the demographic and psychological variables, as well as in their experience of loss of control. However, the Latina women were descriptively different in the foods consumed during binges and the settings in which they binge. The major finding from the current study was that Latina women tend to binge on foods such as chicken in the context of normal family meals, while White women tend to binge on snack foods such as pretzels, alone, at night. The implications of this study may be useful in improving culturally appropriate diagnosis and treatments of BED for Latinas.

Genre

masters theses

Subjects--Topics

Psychology

Degree

M.A.

Keywords

Acculturation
Binge Eating
Culture
Eating Disorders
Latinas

Subject Area

Psychology

Advisor(s)

Cachelin, Fary

Committee Members

Gil-Rivas, Virginia
Webb, Jennifer

Degree Note

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2014.

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Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

Vela_uncc_0694N_10660

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:1443