Latinx Women’s Disordered Eating: Considering Culturally Relevant Variables in the Objectification Theory Framework

Abstract

Using an objectification theory lens, the purpose of this study was to better understand religious/spiritual coping and acculturative stress as moderators in the relationship among sexual objectification, internalization of sociocultural standards of beauty, and disordered eating with a sample of 399 Latinx women. At the bivariate level, results suggested that experiences of sexual objectification were related to more internalization, acculturative stress, negative religious coping, and disordered eating. When examining internalization as a dependent variable, results suggested that, when sexual objectification, acculturation, acculturative stress, enculturation, negative religious coping, and positive religious coping were examined concurrently, acculturative stress and negative religious coping positively predicted internalization; and enculturation significantly negatively predicted internalization. When examining disordered eating as a dependent variable, results suggested that when sexual objectification, internalization, acculturation, acculturative stress, enculturation, negative religious coping, and positive religious coping were examined concurrently, only sexual objectification, internalization, and acculturative stress positively predicted disordered eating; and enculturation negatively predicted disordered eating. Moreover, post-hoc path analyses indicated that internalization predicted disordered eating; both acculturative stress and enculturation directly predicted internalization and disordered eating; and sexual objectification did not predict internalization. Strengths and limitations as well as implications for future interventions and future research is discussed.