Psychology Research and Behavior Management (Apr 2020)
Emphasizing the “Cultural” in Sociocultural: A Systematic Review of Research on Thin-Ideal Internalization, Acculturation, and Eating Pathology in US Ethnic Minorities
Abstract
Cortney S Warren,1,2 Liya M Akoury3 1Department of Psychology, University of Nevada - Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA; 2Choose Honesty, LLC., Las Vegas, NV, USA; 3Walden Behavioral Care, Amherst, MA, USACorrespondence: Cortney S WarrenChoose Honesty, LLC., 4044 N Lincoln Avenue, Unit 319, Chicago, IL 60618, USAEmail [email protected]: A large body of research suggests that thin-ideal internalization is a robust predictor of eating pathology in women and, to some degree, in men. Recent research is exploring the relationships between thin-ideal internalization and culture-specific factors that may be salient to women and men who live in the US but are marginalized based on racial or ethnic background, such as acculturation. This systematic review summarizes published articles examining the relationships among thin-ideal internalization, acculturation-related constructs (including assimilation, marginalization, biculturalism, and acculturative stress), and eating pathology in US adults. Following the PRISMA method, 15 empirical studies met inclusion criteria. Although existing literature was sparse and conflicting in large part due to heterogeneity in acculturation measures, results yielded some support for positive correlational relationships between acculturative stress, thin-ideal internalization, and eating pathology for both men and women (in 4 out of 5 relevant studies). Research on other aspects of acculturation (eg, integration, assimilation) is mixed, with some existing research suggesting a positive relationship and other research finding no statistically significant relationship. Future research would particularly benefit from a gold-standard, multidimensional transcultural measure of acculturation to examine how the acculturation process relates to thin-ideal internalization and eating pathology in ethnic and racial minorities in the US.Keywords: eating pathology, thin-ideal internalization, acculturation, acculturative stress, biculturalism, generational status
