Description
College students are at high risk for developing eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors. Eating disorders are serious conditions that involve severe disturbances in eating behaviors, thoughts, and emotions. Researchers have examined the associations between eating disorders and gender, sexual violence, alcohol, exercise, mental health conditions, and academic performance among college students. However, few researchers have examined whether the associations differ as a function of ethnicity/race, especially in the college population. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to: 1) determine whether there were ethnic/racial differences in the diagnosis of eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors among college students; 2) to determine whether theorized risk factors (sexual violence, alcohol, exercise, mental health conditions and academic performance) differed as a function of ethnicity/race in college students diagnosed with eating disorders, and in body weight perceptions. This study used publicly available archival data from the American College Health Association - National College Health Assessment II-C (ACHA-NCHA II- C), collected from 2015 to 2019. The final sample included 426,425 college participants who attended 2-year and 4-year public and private United States institutions. Most participant were White (60%), female (68.5%), and full-time enrolled students (91.8%), with a relatively equal distribution of grade levels. White students were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with both anorexia and bulimia than ethnic/racial minority students. In order to lose weight, White students were significantly more likely to exercise and diet, whereas ethnic/racial minority students were significantly more likely to use diet pills. Ethnic/racial group did not significantly predict purging or laxative use. Furthermore, all risk factors significantly predicted an eating disorder diagnosis and body weight perceptions. Finally, mental health conditions and exercise each significantly interacted with ethnic/racial group in predicting anorexia, bulimia and body weight perceptions. Future researchers should continue to examine the reasons for these differences, to ensure that cross-cultural screening and treatment plans can be developed for all students.
