Body Image Disturbance in Young North European and East Asian Women with and without Eating Disorders in Australia and in Singapore

Abstract

Objective: To investigate body image disturbance in young women with and without an eating disorder (ED) across two different ethnic groups in Australia and Singapore. Method: The relationship of body image disturbance to cultural orientation and socio-cultural factors was analysed in 154 women with and without an ED. Participants were from the following backgrounds: North European Australian, East Asian Australian, Singaporean Chinese (SC) and North European expatriates in Singapore. Results: Irrespective of cultural group, women with an ED had similar body dissatisfaction. Among those without an ED, SC women reported greater body dissatisfaction than all other cultural groups. Finally, within each cultural group, ED participants reported significantly higher body dissatisfaction than their non-ED counterparts with the exception of SC women where there was no difference. Discussion: Socio-cultural factors other than body image may play more important roles in SC women's ED psychopathology.