Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Apr;23(2):241-246.
doi: 10.1007/s40519-016-0358-5. Epub 2017 Mar 27.

Acculturation, out-group positivity and eating disorders symptoms among Emirati women

Justin Thomas  1 , Lily O'Hara  2 , Susanne Quadflieg  3 , Sophia Christin Weissgerber  4
Affiliations

Acculturation, out-group positivity and eating disorders symptoms among Emirati women

Justin Thomas et al. Eat Weight Disord. 2018 Apr.

Abstract

Western acculturation has been implicated in the development of eating disorders among populations living outside Europe and North America. This study explored the relationship between Western acculturation, in-group/out-group evaluations and eating disorders symptoms among female citizens of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Emirati college women (N = 209) completed an affective priming task, designed to implicitly assess in-group (Emirati) and out-group (American) evaluations. Participants also completed the Westernization Survey, a widely used self-report measure of acculturation, and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26). Across the whole sample, out-group positivity was correlated with higher levels of eating disorder symptoms. Participants classified as at risk for eating disorders showed a clear out-group preference (out-group positivity greater than in-group positivity). Western acculturation was also positively correlated with eating disorder symptoms. Overall, these findings lend further support to the acculturation hypothesis of eating disorders in the context of Emirati college women.

Keywords: Acculturation; Affective prime; Arab; Eating disorders; Identity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Int J Prev Med. 2016 Apr 14;7:67 - PubMed
    1. Eat Behav. 2013 Apr;14(2):157-60 - PubMed
    1. Int J Eat Disord. 2014 Dec;47(8):898-900 - PubMed
    1. Psychol Med. 1982 Nov;12(4):871-8 - PubMed
    1. Int J Eat Disord. 1995 Mar;17 (2):175-83 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources