Acculturation and Sociocultural Influences as Predictors of Family Relationships and Body Image Dissatisfaction in African American, Hispanic American, and European American Women Page: 21
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Issues in Measurement of Body Dissatisfaction
It has been suggested historically that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual may be
a flawed tool for diagnosing eating disorders. One current criticism directed towards the
DSM is that the criteria that have been selected for diagnosis of anorexia nervosa and
bulmia nervosa are too restrictive and severe, and therefore a large number of
individuals who are now classified as subthreshold diagnostically are not receiving
adequate treatment or care (Kashubeck-West & Mintz, 2001). The DSM also does not
represent cultural differences in diagnostic presentation adequately. Instead, it advises
the clinician to be culturally sensitive and to educate oneself when treating patients from
other ethnic groups (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). For example, binge
eating and weight control techniques such as purging and use of laxatives have been
found to exist within minority populations; however, these may present in a different
manner clinically than they do in Caucasian samples (Smith & Krejci, 1991). Not only is
it likely that the assessment measures that are used may be flawed in diagnosing and
classifying ethnic minorities, but also professionals within the field may hold stereotypes
that eating disorders are only present in white women (Root, 1990). Therefore, ethnic
minorities may be misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all, thereby resulting in the lower
frequency of identified eating disorders within these populations (Thompson, 1992;
Silber, 1986).
One of the reasons that further investigation needs to be conducted on body image
dissatisfaction with ethnic minorities is that the body image scales that are most often
used are not accurately assessing the correct areas of dissatisfaction within these
populations. Generally, Caucasian women rate their stomach, thighs, and buttocks as21
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Garcia-Rea, Elizabeth Ann. Acculturation and Sociocultural Influences as Predictors of Family Relationships and Body Image Dissatisfaction in African American, Hispanic American, and European American Women, dissertation, December 2006; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5463/m1/27/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .