Body Dissatisfaction and Characteristics of Disordered Eating Among Black and White Early Adolescent Girls and Boys

Multiple measures of body dissatisfaction and behaviors associated with disordered eating were studied in 258 White girls, 223 White boys, 106 Black girls, and 82 Black boys. All participants were unpaid volunteers between the ages of 12 and 15 attending six middle schools in Delaware and Maryland. On two self-ideal figure drawing discrepancy measures and four attitude measures of body dissatisfaction, girls had greater dissatisfaction than boys, and Whites had greater body dissatisfaction than Blacks. Racial differences among girls were more common than among boys. Similar results were found for measures of behaviors associated with disordered eating. Gender and racial differences generally paralleled those reported in college populations but were considerably larger than those typically reported in older populations. The majority of Black girls and boys, like the majority of White girls and boys, were dissatisfied with the size of their bodies.