Title:
Body image and acculturation among Latina migrants to the United States
Author:
Sarah E. Alness Olson
Thesis Advisor:
Diana E. Betz
Committee Member:
Frank D. Golom
Committee Member:
Heather Z. Lyons
Committee Member:
Stephen E. Fowl
Committee Member:
Cara H. Jacobson
Degree Granting Institution:
Loyola University Maryland--College of Arts and Sciences
Place:
Baltimore (Md.)
Publisher:
Loyola University Maryland
Date Created:
2023
Type of Resource:
text
Genre:
thesis
Language:
eng
Format:
application/pdf
Physical Form:
electronic
Digital Source:
born digital
Abstract:
Negative body image and disordered eating have long been considered phenomena unique to young, White, middle-and upper-class girls and women. However, research has increasingly revealed that body image issues and eating disorders impact people of all identities. Further, the experience of undergoing cultural transitions, such as migration, may represent a unique risk factor. Researchers focused on migrant populations have begun to explore the roles of variables including acculturation, acculturative stress, and internalization of the thin body ideal in the development of negative body image. However, to date, few studies have examined the relationships between all of these variables or tested comprehensive models seeking to explain the overall relationship. The present study collected data from Latina migrant communities in the U.S. to test a proposed serial mediation model, which hypothesized that acculturative stress and internalization of the thin ideal would mediate the relationship between acculturation style and negative body image. The overall serial mediation model was not supported. However, both acculturation category and internalization of the thin ideal predicted negative body image as hypothesized. Additionally, while not significant within the model, some bivariate correlations were aligned with predictions: level of acculturation to the U.S. predicted lower acculturative stress, while higher levels of acculturative stress predicted more negative body image. The paper asserts that the lack of significance of the serial mediation model may reflect discrepancies in the field regarding the relationships between these variables, issues in the measurement of acculturation, and the possibility of outside variables playing a significant role. Thus, findings point to the need for more research in this area. Overall takeaways and limitations of the study are considered, and recommendations are made concerning clinical implications and areas for future research in order to better understand and provide treatment for this population.
Subject:
Electronic dissertations
Degree:
Doctor of Clinical Psychology
Level:
Doctoral
Discipline:
Psychology
Restrictions on Access:
Author has given permission to make this work available online.
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Identifier:
AlnessOlsonSE-23
