Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

BINGE EATING AND THE “STRONG BLACK WOMAN”: AN EXPLANATORY MODEL OF BINGE EATING IN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN

Harrington, Ellen F.

Abstract Details

2007, PHD, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences.
The present study investigated a culturally specific model of binge eating among African American women. As predicted, trauma, stress, and discriminatory stress were significantly related to binge eating symptomatology. Further, Strong Black Woman (SBW) ideology played an important moderating role, such that women strongly endorsing the SBW image reported greater binge eating symptomatology with increasing trauma exposure and distress, while binge eating among women low in SBW ideology did not vary significantly as a function of trauma exposure and distress. Structural path analyses revealed further differences between these two groups. Among women strongly endorsing the SBW image, stress exhibited strong positive relationships with emotional inhibition/regulation difficulties and self-silencing, and appeared to influence binge eating through its effects on these variables. In contrast, among women low in SBW ideology, stress was not as strongly related to emotional inhibition/regulation difficulties and self-silencing and instead had a direct effect on binge eating. In addition, key directional differences emerged such that discriminatory stress exhibited positive relationships with emotional inhibition/regulation difficulties and self-silencing among women low in SBW ideology and negative relationships among women high in SBW ideology. Results of both sets of analyses indicated that emotional inhibition/regulation difficulties, self-silencing, and eating for psychological reasons each fully mediated the relationships between trauma, stress, discriminatory stress, and binge eating. These findings suggest that critical mechanisms by which traumatic, stressful, and discriminatory experiences influence African American women’s binge eating symptomatology are through increasing the likelihood or severity of emotion regulation difficulties, self-silencing behaviors, and the use of eating to fulfill psychological functions.
Janis Crowther (Advisor)
151 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Harrington, E. F. (2007). BINGE EATING AND THE “STRONG BLACK WOMAN”: AN EXPLANATORY MODEL OF BINGE EATING IN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1176232919

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Harrington, Ellen. BINGE EATING AND THE “STRONG BLACK WOMAN”: AN EXPLANATORY MODEL OF BINGE EATING IN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN. 2007. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1176232919.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Harrington, Ellen. "BINGE EATING AND THE “STRONG BLACK WOMAN”: AN EXPLANATORY MODEL OF BINGE EATING IN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1176232919

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)