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Media Internalization and Social Comparison as Predictors of Eating Pathology Among Latino Adolescents: The Moderating Effect of Gender and Generational Status

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Abstract

Using a sociocultural framework, this cross-sectional study examined eating pathology among 235 Latino adolescents from the Southwestern U.S. who differed in generational status. Participants completed self-report measures of media pressures, internalization, social comparison, and eating pathology. Overall, results revealed stronger relationships between these sociocultural variables and eating pathology for girls. Girls reported greater social comparison, thin-ideal pressure and internalization, and eating pathology than boys. Generational status was positively correlated with these sociocultural variables and eating pathology for girls only. Moderated hierarchical regression analyses indicated that athletic-ideal internalization was a key predictor of eating pathology for girls but not boys. Discussion highlights gender, more than generational status, as critical to a sociocultural framework for eating pathology among adolescent Latino Americans.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Ann Marie Perone and Valley High School for their support of this project. We would also like to thank the guest editor, Dr. Rachel Calogero, for her feedback during the review process.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA

    Cortney S. Warren, Andrea Schoen & Kerri J. Schafer

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Correspondence to Cortney S. Warren.

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Warren, C.S., Schoen, A. & Schafer, K.J. Media Internalization and Social Comparison as Predictors of Eating Pathology Among Latino Adolescents: The Moderating Effect of Gender and Generational Status. Sex Roles 63, 712–724 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9876-1

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