A true picture of eating disorders among African American women: a review of literature

ABNF Journal, The, May-June, 2003 by Indira D. Tyler

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Women have been consistently excluded from research studies, and the impact of this phenomenon on African American women is substantial. African American culture is steeped in family and has a strong matriarch thread. African American women are demonstrative and favor conveying love through food. Meals and times of breaking bread are avenues of socialization in African American families and communities.

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As African Americans enter mainstream American via work and school, the acculturation phenomenon invades the most sacred of African American culture--food. The prevalence of eating disorders among African American women has not reached epidemic proportions; however, the potential is there. African American women face stressors tri-fold; racism, classism, and sexism have long been recognized as stressors unique to African American women compared to their Caucasian counterparts. The research must then follow to examine how African American women respond, and if maladaptive eating regulation responses are identified then counseling programs need to be available to African American women--the barriers to healthcare must be superceded to empower African American women to nourish future generations of physically sound men and women.

REFERENCES

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Gray, J. J., Ford, K., & Kelly, L. M. (1987). The prevalence of bulimia in a Black college population. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 6, 733-740.

Mulholland, A. M. & Mintz, L. B. (2001). Prevalence of eating disorders among African American women. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 48(1), 111-116.

Pike, K. M., Dohm, F., Striegel-Moore, R. H., Wilfley, D. E., & Fairburn, C. G. (2001). A comparison of Black and White women with binge eating disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158:9, 1455-1460.

Stuart, G. W., & Laraia, M. T. (2001). Principles and Practices of Psychiatric Nursing. Missouri: Mosby, Inc.

United States Department of Education. (n.d.). Research and statistics. Retrieved January 15, 2003, from http://www.ed.gov/ topics topicsTier2.jsp?type=t&top= Research+%26+Stats&subtop=Statistics

Vital Statistics. (Autumn 2002). The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, 37. Retrieved January 15, 2003 from hht:// www.jbhe.com/vital/

Williams, B. A. (1994). An investigation of eating disorder symptoms in African American females attending predominantly Black and Caucasian colleges. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin.

Indira D. Tyler, RN, BSN, BA is a Clinical Laboratory Instructor Department of Nursing, School of Science and Technology, Norfolk State University. She may be contacted via email at indiratyler@hotmail.com or ityler@nsu.edu.

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A true picture of eating disorders among African American women: a review of literature

ABNF Journal, The, May-June, 2003 by Indira D. Tyler

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