“I can't. I just can't anymore!”: considering the impact of microaggressions and discrimination on binge eating behavior among black women

Abstract

Extant research suggests that dietary restraint, emotion dysregulation, and stress are significant predictors of binge eating. Although Black women report the highest rates of binge eating behavior across all racial and ethnic groups, their representation in previous and current research is limited. Current BE interventions have also been found to be less effective among Black women, which may be due to lack of representation in treatment research specifically. and may indicate exiting treatments are less relevant to their lived experience. Stress related to racism is a specific form of stress that is not currently encompassed in binge eating research, but has a significant impact on Black women. Specifically, experiences with discrimination and microaggressions may impact emotion dysregulation and stress. This investigation examined if experiences with discrimination, microaggressions, and associated stress uniquely predict binge eating behavior among Black women. Hypotheses were examined using both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Results of this investigation indicate that experiences with discrimination, microaggressions and associated stress uniquely predict binge eating symptomatology among Black women. These findings suggest the need for more culturally informed theories regarding the development and maintenance of binge eating behavior among Black women.