The Body Image and Multiculturalism lab is closed. We are no longer accepting research assistants or participants.

Our lab explored the influence of Western sociocultural factors on the development, maintenance, and perpetuation of eating pathology. In our culture, physical appearance can be a central defining characteristic of female value. This is particularly true when sociocultural agents (e.g., the media) convey the message that attaining the ideal appearance assures security, success, and life satisfaction. Specifically, the ideal woman is young and has a very thin body with long legs, light eyes, and clear skin. Theoretically, these cultural ideals predispose women to become preoccupied with thinness and to be dissatisfied with their bodies when they do not match the prescribed ideal. Body dissatisfaction, in turn, is a strong predictor of the development of eating pathology.

Our research focused on the following:

• The influence of multicultural factors (e. g., ethnicity, ethnic identity, racial identity, and acculturation) on eating pathology
• The effects of exposure to thin-ideal media on eating behavior and body image
• Psychometric evaluation of body image measures for ethnically, racially and linguistically diverse groups
• The experiences of professional eating disorder treatment providers (e.g., burnout, countertransference reactions)
• Comorbidity between substance use/abuse disorders and eating pathology