The Role of Coping Responses in the Relationship between Perceived Stress and Disordered Eating in a Cross-Cultural Sample of Female University Students

The aim of the study was to determine whether a relationship exists between perceived stress and disordered eating among 349 female, residential, first year students (143 Black and 206 White). The possible influence of coping responses and cultural differences on this relationship was also investigated. The participants completed measures of disordered eating, coping responses and perceived stress. Body mass index scores were also calculated. Product-term regression analyses were conducted to investigate whether coping responses mediated or moderated the relationship between perceived stress and disordered eating. The results indicated a significant correlation between perceived stress and disordered eating among the White female students. Furthermore, with the exception of drive for thinness, similar results were found for the Black female participants. Coping responses did not moderate the relationship between perceived stress and disordered eating among the White female students. Coping responses did, however, act as mediators in this group. Coping responses were found not to moderate nor mediate the relationship between perceived stress and disordered eating among Black females. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.