Psychology of Women Quarterly, 33 (2009), 396409. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Printed in the USA.

Copyright C 2009 Division 35, American Psychological Association. 0361-6843/09

APPEARANCE SELF-ATTITUDES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN AMERICAN WOMEN: MEDIA COMPARISONS AND INTERNALIZATION OF BEAUTY IDEALS
Deana L. Jefferson and Jayne E. Stake University of MissouriSt. Louis

African American (AA) women have reported less body image disturbance than European American (EA) women, but questions remain about the nature and extent of this difference. This study examined differences in the body image of 80 AA women and 89 EA women with an improved methodology that controlled for body size, distinguished between satisfaction with and importance of body features, and included nonweight (e.g., hair texture, skin color) as well as weight-related features. Results provide evidence that, in contrast to AA women, EA women (a) were more dissatisfied with both weight and specific appearance features, (b) compared themselves more often to media beauty figures and internalized Western beauty standards more, and (c) showed a significant relation between media comparisons and body dissatisfaction. Internalization of Western beauty ideals was related to body dissatisfaction in both groups of women.

Women and girls in Western society experience strong social pressures to reach a cultural ideal of thinness and perfection in appearance. They experience higher levels of discontent with their bodies than do boys and men (Miller et al., 2000; Mintz & Kashubeck, 1999; Feingold & Mazella, 1998), and this gender difference in body dissatisfaction has increased substantially over time since the 1970s (Feingold & Mazella, 1998). Because the cultural ideal is one of extreme thinness, many girls have concerns about their bodies and desire to lose weight even when their body mass index (BMI) is within the normal, healthy range (Mintz & Betz, 1986; Parker, Nichter, Vuckovic, Sims, & Ritenbaugh, 1995; Rand & Kuldau, 1990). Body dissatisfaction is viewed as a serious concern because it has been found to be a precursor to serious psychological problems

Deana L. Jefferson and Jayne E. Stake, Department of Psychology, University of MissouriSt. Louis. This article was edited by Gloria Cowan. We wish to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Katherine Kern-Hartman for her work in data collection and data management. This article is based in part on a doctoral dissertation by the first author. Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Deana L. Jefferson, Department of Psychology, University of MissouriSt. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63121. E-mail: jeffersonde@umsl.edu

such as depression, social anxiety, poor overall self-esteem, and disordered eating (Botta, 2000; Cash, Morrow, Hrabosky, & Perry, 2004; Falconer & Neville, 2000). Despite the high levels of body dissatisfaction that have been reported among women in the United States generally, some racial differences have been reported. Relevant to the current study, African American (AA) women have been found to be more satisfied with their body shape and size, to diet less, and to report fewer symptoms of disordered eating than EA women (Botta, 2000; Breitkopf, Littleton, & Berenson, 2007; Colabianchi, IeversLandis, & Borawski, 2006; Falconer & Neville, 2000; Kelly, Wall, Eisenberg, Story, & Newmark-Sztainer, 2005; Makkar & Strube, 1995; Parker et al., 1995; Schooler, Ward, Merriwether, & Caruthers, 2004). Three recent metaanalyses have confirmed a consistent small to moderate difference in the body image attitudes of AA versus EA girls and women (Grabe & Hyde, 2006; Roberts, Cash, Feingold, & Johnson, 2006; Wildes, Emery, & Simons, 2001). This racial difference was evident in high school, college, and community samples in the United States and was largest in college samples. Despite the evidence that AA women tend to have a more positive body image than EA women, questions remain about the nature and extent of these body image differences because of methodological limitations of previous research. One goal of this study was to assess differences in the body image of AA and EA women with an improved methodology. Further, we investigated

396

Appearance Self-Attitudes
ethnoracial differences in comparisons to media figures and to the internalization of societal beauty standards.

397 fects of the two variables. Because no previous research had tested this set of differences between EA and AA women, no hypotheses were set forth about these possible racial differences. Self-ratings beyond weight-related features. Although much research has focused on self-attitudes about body weight and shape, attitudes about other appearance-related aspects of the body (e.g., facial features, hair) have typically been ignored. This omission is problematic because self-judgments of body features unrelated to weight appear to contribute to overall level of body satisfaction (Cash & Henry, 1995; Cash & Szymanski, 1995), and racial comparisons may differ when such racially defined features as hair texture, nose, and lips are the focus of study. The White beauty ideal, which includes light skin color, Caucasoid hair texture, and Caucasoid facial features, has been endorsed historically by many AAs as well as in U.S. society more generally (Bond & Cash, 1992; Makkar & Strube, 1995; Neal & Wilson, 1989). Adhering to this cultural ideal has been associated with higher social status and privilege and, for AA women, greater possibilities for upward social mobility through marriage, and they are aware of this type of discrimination (Hall, 1995; Neal & Wilson, 1989). Consequently, some scholars have expressed concern that AA women feel a pressure to conform to this White cultural ideal, which very often differs from their own body characteristics (Hall, 1995; Makkar & Strube, 1995; Neal & Wilson, 1989; Perkins, 1996; Roberts et al., 2006; Schooler et al., 2004). Despite all that has been written about the valuing of Caucasoid features among AAs, very little research has focused on racial differences in satisfaction with the racially defined features of skin color, hair texture, and facial features. The findings that are available are mixed. In a small sample of college students, Miller et al. (2000) reported that AA womens self-ratings of their hair thickness, hair texture, and skin color were more positive than the selfratings of EA women, and AA women who were judged as having more Negroid features expressed as much satisfaction with their facial and hair qualities as AA women judged to have more Caucasoid features (Smith, Burlew, & Lundgren, 1990). However, Bond and Cash (1992) reported that 36% of AA women preferred to have lighter skin, and Milkie (1999) noted that AA girls expressed much distress about their hair during interviews and felt pressure to alter the quality of their hair texture. In regard to overall appearance, studies have found that AA women give more positive self-ratings than EA women (Cash et al., 2004; Evans & McConnell, 2003; Roberts, et al., 2006; Rucker & Cash, 1992); however, the latter studies were not specific to racially defined features and may reflect AA womens greater appreciation for their body size and shape and not their greater satisfaction with other aspects of their bodies. A goal of the current study was to assess body image self ideal discrepancies and importance in AA and EA women

Methodological Issues in Assessing Body Attitudes

BMI. One problem with previous research on racial differences in body image is that the BMI of participants usually has not been controlled or even reported. This omission could cloud results because AA women tend to be heavier than EA women (Stern et al., 2006; Wildes et al., 2001), and BMI has been positively related to body dissatisfaction in AA as well as EA women (Colabianchi et al., 2006; Falconer & Neville, 2000; Kelly et al., 2005; Schooler et al., 2004). Given that AA groups tend to have a higher average BMI than comparison EA groups, we might expect that AA groups would show more body dissatisfaction because of the relation between body size and dissatisfaction; nevertheless, AA women have reported less dissatisfaction than EA women. Given this pattern of findings, it may be that the racial difference in body dissatisfaction would be even greater for groups of EA and AA women who have an equivalent body size. For example, making AA/EA groups equivalent by removing the heaviest (and, therefore, more dissatisfied) AA women should result in an average AA dissatisfaction score that would be even lower relative to the average EA dissatisfaction score. In this study, we examined this possibility by controlling for the BMI of comparison EA and AA groups. We predicted that AA women would report less body dissatisfaction than EA women before controlling for BMI, as found in previous research, but that the AA/EA difference would be greater when BMI was controlled. Measurement of body image. A second limitation of most body image research is that typically no distinction has been made between two aspects of body image: (a) discrepancies between personal ideals for attractiveness and self-evaluations and (b) the importance placed on body features for overall self-judgments of attractiveness. Instead, researchers have measured only selfideal discrepancies. As discussed by Cash and his colleagues (Cash et al., 2004; Cash & Szymanski, 1995), one may acknowledge a difference between some aspect of ones appearance and what one would most like to be; however, if that aspect is not important to ones overall sense of attractiveness, such discrepancies may cause little distress and promote little change in behavior. Cash et al. (2004) presented evidence that body image importance provides additional predictive validity over selfideal discrepancy measures alone and recommended that both types of values be measured when researching body image. In this study, separate measures of selfideal discrepancy and importance were included. By measuring both of these aspects of body self-attitudes, it was possible to assess within one participant sample the extent of racial differences in (a) body image selfideal discrepancies, (b) the importance of these body features to the self in judging attractiveness, and (c) the combined ef-

398 for a range of specific nonweight-related features, including features that have been racially defined (e.g., skin color). Given the equivocal results from previous studies, no specific hypotheses were made regarding AA/EA differences for features unrelated to body weight and shape.

JEFFERSON AND STAKE lets (Schooler et al., 2004), so the majority of figures in the media tend to be less similar to AA than to EA women. Consistent with this explanation, there is evidence that AA adolescent girls recognize that there are very few models like themselves in teen magazines and tend to disregard what they see in the magazines as irrelevant to themselves (Duke, 2000; Milkie, 1999). Another reason to expect media influences to be attenuated among AA women is that the cultural beauty standards of many AAs appear to diverge substantially from those of the mainstream media, and these alternate standards may provide a buffer against mainstream societal pressures. The range of acceptable body sizes, facial features, and styles appears to be broader for the majority of AAs, and there is substantial evidence that AA women and girls experience less pressure from their family members, friends, and romantic partners to conform to Western standards of beauty (Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2003; Colabianchi et al., 2006; Duke, 2000; Gentles & Harrison, 2006; Milkie, 1999; Ofosu, Lafreniere, & Senn, 1998; Parker et al., 1995; Stern et al., 2006). Instead, AAs may be more likely to define beauty in terms of personality, attitude, and character as well as physical appearance (Duke, 2000; Parker et al., 1995). The development of culturally specific beauty standards among AAs may be attributed, in part, to the broader civil rights movement in which AAs came to take on new pride in their culture and heritage (Neal & Wilson, 1989; Smith et al., 1990). In addition, some writers have interpreted the rejection of Western beauty standards as a protective strategy from what some view as racist attitudes inherent in those standards (Evans & McConnell, 2003; Falconer & Neville, 2000; Ofusu et al., 1998). Media comparisons and the internalization of beauty ideals. Although it appears that AA girls and women tend to reject EA beauty standards projected in the media, there has been some conceptual confusion about the social comparison processes involved. In much of the writing (e.g., Botta, 2000), the cognitive process of comparing the self to media images (or sometimes simply exposure to the media) has been interpreted as though it were the same as the internalization of attitudes about the value of the White beauty ideal. It is possible, however, that AA women may make comparisons between White media images and themselves and yet, those evaluations may not be negative if the women have not internalized White beauty standards. As support for this possibility, Evans and McConnell (2003) found that, when AA women viewed yearbook photos, they rated the attractiveness of EA women quite low relative to AA women, and Beasley (2000) reported that body images of AA women were not affected by exposure to thin EA models. Separating the two aspects of the social comparison processthe cognitive process of making comparisons to media ideals and the internalization of specific attitudes about beauty idealsshould provide a better

Media Comparisons and the Internalization of Western Beauty Ideals

Media influences on body image disturbance. Many writers have blamed the media as a major source of body image disturbance (Botta, 2000; Gentles & Harrison, 2006; Holmstrom, 2004; Schooler et al., 2004). These critics have noted that the average woman depicted in the media is much thinner and taller than the average American woman, and they posit that women who compare themselves to such media figures feel more dissatisfied with their bodies. Although a few studies have failed to support this assertion, findings derived from both survey and experimental methodologies provide evidence that exposure to media ideals has had a small negative effect on womens body satisfaction across a variety of samples (Aubrey, 2006; Groesz, Levine, & Murnen, 2002; Holmstrom, 2004). In meta-analyses, the overall effect size was in the small to moderate range (Holmstrom, 2004; Groesz et al., 2002). Consistent with these findings, interviews with EA adolescent girls have revealed that, although they recognize that the beauty ideals depicted in magazines are very difficult if not impossible to achieve, they nevertheless feel a strong pressure to conform to those ideals and experience negative feelings when they fail to do so (Duke, 2000; Milkie, 1999). Media influences on AA women. As has been the case more generally with body image research, there have been few studies specific to the impact of the media on AA girls and women. Because studies show that they watch television more than EA girls and women (Schooler et al., 2004; Tirodkar & Jain, 2003), one might expect that they are more influenced by it. However, Botta (2000) reported that among heavy viewers of television, EA teens had more disordered eating behaviors than AA teens. Furthermore, when AA teens were interviewed about their magazine reading, they claimed not to accept the beauty ideals they saw portrayed there (Duke, 2000; Milkie, 1999). These findings, coupled with the relatively low level of body image dissatisfaction found in AA girls and women, suggest that the mainstream media has less influence on their body image than it does on that of EA girls and women. One could explain why the media may have less influence on AA girls and women from the perspective of Festingers (1954) social comparison theory. As Festinger proposed, people make judgments of themselves based on what they see in other people and are most affected by comparisons made to similar others. Fewer AA than EA figures are depicted in television and other mainstream media out-

Appearance Self-Attitudes
understanding of the impact of media ideals on AA and EA women. In this study, we compared the extent to which AA and EA women made media comparisons and internalized societal ideals. Based on the research and reasoning presented, we expected that AA women would report both less media comparison and less internalization of Western beauty standards than EA women. Further, we tested the relation between body dissatisfaction in AA and EA women and both media comparisons and internalization. We expected that the internalization of societys beauty ideals would be linked to body dissatisfaction regardless of race because any woman who accepts these unrealistic standards will likely be dissatisfied with the reality of their own bodies. This expectation was supported by Bottas (2000) finding that both EA and AA girls who idealized television images had more body dissatisfaction. In contrast, we predicted that media comparison would be related to body dissatisfaction in EA but not in AA women. This hypothesis was based on the reasoning presented earlier that (a) media images are generally more relevant for EA women than they are for AA women because of the preponderance of EA women in the media and (b) AA women may feel less pressure than EA women to conform to media ideals because alternate and broader standards of beauty in the AA community may serve as a buffer against the impact of media comparisons.

399 dia ideals) with the attitudinal internalization of the White beauty ideal. In this study, these variables were measured separately to better assess the effect of media images on EA and AA womens body self-attitudes. We predicted, based on the findings reviewed here, that AA women would compare themselves to media ideals less than EA women and would be less likely to internalize Western societal ideals of beauty. Further, comparison to media ideals was expected to affect body dissatisfaction among EA women but not AA women, whereas internalization was expected to be related to body dissatisfaction in both groups of women. METHOD

Participants
Participants included 89 EA and 80 AA female undergraduate students from a large Midwestern university. At an alpha level of .05, this sample size was estimated to have sufficient power to detect a medium effect size (Cohen, 1998). The mean age for both AA and EA women was 22.10 years old, with a range of 18 to 30 years. EA participants averaged 15.11 years of education and AA women averaged 14.29 years of education, with a range of 12 to 18 years for both groups; this mean difference was not significant. The majority of AA (90.0%) and EA (73.0%) women were single; the remaining participants were married or in a permanent relationship. The mean BMI for AA women fell in the overweight range (M = 27.34, SD = 6.08) and was significantly higher than the mean BMI for EA women (M = 23.83, SD = 4.50), which fell in the normal weight range, F(1,167) = 15.89, p < .001 (d = .67). Based on parents occupation as an index of socioeconomic status (SES), EA women reported higher SES than AA women according to Hollingsheads (1975) Four Factor Index of Social Position, t(164) = 3.87, p < .01. EA womens average SES score was 6.62, corresponding to occupations in the semiprofessional range (e.g., retail sales manager, dental hygienist), and AA womens average SES score was 5.47, corresponding to occupations in the range of clerical and sales workers (e.g., cashier, bookkeeper). Because SES was not significantly related to any of the body image variables, it was not necessary to covary SES in the main analyses.

Summary and Hypotheses

AA women have consistently been found to have less body image disturbance than EA women. However, questions remain about the nature and extent of this difference because in most ethnoracial comparison studies (a) BMI has not been controlled, (b) no distinction has been made between selfideal discrepancies and importance, and (c) little attention has been paid to nonweight-related aspects of the body such as hair and facial features. This study explored racial differences in body self-attitudes with an improved methodology that addressed these issues. Based on the research and theory described earlier, it was predicted that EA women would report more dissatisfaction with their weight-related features than AA women and that EA/AA differences would be greater when BMI was controlled. In addition, racial differences in body image self ideal discrepancies and importance were tested separately, and racial differences in self-attitudes toward nonweightrelated features were studied, with and without controlling for BMI. No specific predictions were made for these variables due to insufficient previous findings for these variables. Much attention has been paid to the possible impact of the Western media in portraying unrealistic images of women, but it may be that AA women are less likely to be influenced by the media than are EA women. Most research on this topic has conflated the cognitive process of comparing the self to media ideals (or being exposed to me-

Procedure
The majority of participants (75.0% of AAs and 85.0% of EAs) were recruited from introductory psychology and nursing classes and received extra credit for their participation. The remaining participants, who were college students from the same university, were recruited by a research assistant from a student center at the university. These participants did not receive an incentive for their participation. Participants completed their surveys in a research lab or private study area where they were given privacy to complete the measures. Participants first completed consent forms, which included an assurance that all responses

400 would be anonymous. Neither names nor any other identifying information were linked to participants responses. To determine whether there were any differences between participants recruited from classes and the student center, analyses were conducted to compare them on all of the study measures. There were no differences between participants drawn from the two recruitment methods for any of the study variables; thus, the two groups of women were combined for the analyses.

JEFFERSON AND STAKE Table 1 Standardized Factor Loadings for Exploratory Factor Analysis of the Body Image Ideals Questionnaire Weighted Discrepancy Scores
Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 weightspecific functional related appearance body features features characteristics Body proportions Muscle tone/ definition Weight Hair texture/ thickness Skin color Eyes Nose Lips Face shape Chest size Physical strength Coordination Total Variance .833 .696 .844 .097 .190 .077 .100 .112 .106 .191 .078 .155 17.0% .106 .126 .020 .337 .283 .287 .517 .603 .669 .401 .206 .126 13.3% .060 .197 .060 .059 .114 .085 .175 .081 .143 .044 .763 .579 8.7%

Measures
BMI. The participants were asked to self-report their height and weight, and each participants BMI was calculated as weight/height2 . Self-reported height and weight is the index most often used in epidemiological and body image research. Evidence is available of the validity of these self-reports: Nieto-Garcia, Bush, and Keyl (1990) reported a strong correlation between self-reported and objectively measured height and weight (r = .96). Body image. The Body Image Ideals Questionnaire (BIQ; Cash & Szymanski, 1995) was used to assess body image dissatisfaction. The BIQ was chosen because it measures both selfideal discrepancies and importance for a range of appearance features, including some that are not weight and shape related. The BIQ assesses the degree to which participants perceive that their bodies are discrepant from their personal ideals for 10 specific appearance features, as well as the degree of importance they place on these body features when judging their own attractiveness. Individual physical characteristics measured by the original BIQ are: height, skin color, hair texture and thickness, facial features, muscle tone and definition, body proportions, weight, chest size, physical strength, and physical coordination. To assess attitudes about other racially defined appearance features in the current study, the facial features item was replaced by four specific facial items: eyes, nose, lips, and face shape. Thus, the number of specific appearance features assessed in this study was 13 rather than 10. Participants rated the extent to which each listed body feature matched their ideal on a 5-point scale: 0 (exactly as I am), 1 (almost as I am), 2 (somewhat as I am), 3 (fairly unlike me) and 4 (very unlike me). After making self ideal discrepancy ratings for each attribute, participants were asked to report the amount of importance they placed on each ideal when evaluating their attractiveness on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (not important) to 4 (very important). To clarify participants intended meaning regarding skin color, those who reported a discrepancy for this attribute were asked to indicate whether they would like their skin to be lighter or darker. Three composite scores are derived from the BIQ: The ideal-discrepancy score is the mean of the rated selfideal discrepancies, the importance score is the mean of the rated importance scores, and the weighted discrepancy score is

Note. Method = Maximum Likelihood with Varimax rotation. N = 166.

the mean of the cross products of the ideal-discrepancy and importance scores. The BIQ is reported to have strong convergent validity. The three scales of the BIQ have been found to correlate with measures of evaluative body image and eating disturbances (Cash & Szymanski, 1995). Cronbachs alphas for these scales in the current study were .76, .89, and .73 for the ideal-discrepancy, importance, and weighted discrepancy scores, respectively. Although the BIQ provides ideal-discrepancy, importance, and weighted discrepancy scores for all features combined, there is no formal scoring system for deriving subscores for BIQ appearance categories. To determine differences between AA and EA women for specific facets of appearance, it was necessary to first determine meaningful categories of the individual BIQ items. For this purpose, a principal components factor analysis was conducted on the weighted discrepancy scores using the entire sample. Based on the eigenvalue-greater-than-1 criterion and the scree test, the results of the analysis suggested the presence of four factors. Because after a varimax rotation the item height had a low loading on all factors, it was dropped from subsequent analyses. With that item removed, a second factor analysis was conducted. The results of this analysis indicated the presence of three factors. Results of the factor analysis that excluded the height item are given in Table 1. Factor 1, consisting of items related to weight and shape, was labeled weight-related features. Factor 2, consisting of specific appearance characteristics, was labeled specific appearance features, and Factor 3, consisting of the items, physical strength and coordination, was labeled functional body characteristics. Parallel

Appearance Self-Attitudes
analyses for each racial group indicated a highly similar factor structure for the AA and EA groups.1 Factor scores from the analysis of the combined sample were therefore used in subsequent analyses. To determine whether the same classification of items could be applied to the ideal-discrepancy and importance scores, confirmatory factor analyses were conducted for each of these sets of scores. The items loaded in the same pattern as for the weighted discrepancy scores, confirming the presence of the same three factors for both the ideal-discrepancy and importance scores. Factor scores derived from these analyses were used in subsequent analyses involving the BIQ. Internalization of societal standards of beauty. Acceptance of socially sanctioned standards of appearance was measured by the Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire Internalization (SATAQ-IN; Heinberg, Thompson, & Stormer, 1995). The SATAQ-IN is composed of eight Likert-type self-report items. A sample item of the SATAQ-IN is I believe that clothes look better on thin models. Participants were asked to indicate the degree to which they agreed with the statements on a scale that ranged from 1 (never) to 5 (completely). The authors of the SATAQ-IN report strong internal consistency and convergent validity. In the current study, Cronbachs alpha was .91. Social comparisons. Participants were asked to indicate the degree to which they tended to compare themselves to female media figures when evaluating their own attractiveness on a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). Specifically, participants were asked, When judging your own physical attractiveness, how much do you

401 compare yourself to women you have seen on TV, in movies, or in fashion magazines? Participants were also asked to indicate the ethnicity of the women with whom they tended to compare themselves. RESULTS

Ethnoracial Differences in BIQ Scores

Weighted discrepancy scores. Differences in body image dissatisfaction for EA and AA women were first examined by comparing weighted discrepancy scores for the total expanded BIQ without controlling for BMI. EA women had significantly higher scores on this measure than AA women despite the heavier weight of AA women, F(1,167) = 7.59, p < .01 (see Table 2 for all BIQ comparisons). When BMI was controlled in a subsequent analysis of covariance using this measure, the effect was significant, F(1,166) = 12.17, p < .001, with a slightly larger effect size. Racial differences for the three weighted discrepancy scores (weight-related features, specific appearance features, and functional body characteristics) were tested in a one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with ethnoracial group as the independent variable. The overall result of the MANOVA was significant, Wilkss Lambda = .94, F(3, 162) = 3.31, p < .05. Univariate analyses revealed that, without controlling for BMI, EA women had significantly higher weighted discrepancy scores than AAs for weight-related features, F(1, 164) = 3.31, p < .05. The effect size of this difference is similar to that found in recent meta-analyses described earlier. EAs also had higher weighted discrepancy scores for specific appearance features, F(1, 164) = 6.54, p < .01, but not functional body characteristics. As predicted, when BMI was controlled,

Table 2 Descriptive Statistics and Effect Sizes for Racial Group Differences on Body Image Variables
African Americans M (SD) BIQ weighted discrepancy total score Weight-related features a Weighted discrepancy Ideal discrepancy Importance Specific appearance featuresa Weighted discrepancy Ideal discrepancy Importance Functional body characteristicsa Weighted discrepancy Ideal discrepancy Importance
Note. BIQ = Body Image Ideals Questionnaire. a Factor scores. p < .05. p < .01. p < .001.

European Americans M (SD) 2.45 (1.84) .12 (.92) .09 (.93) .29 (.88) .15 (.84) .24 (.99) .01 (.88) .05 (.76) .01 (.95) .01 (.86)

d .43 .29 .21 .64 .40 .54 .03 .14 .05 .02

d (BMI controlled) .55 .62 .72 .75 .25 .46 .17 .01 .02 .07

1.68 (1.72) .14 (.91) .11 (1.07) .33 (1.03) .17 (.78) .28 (.95) .02 (1.13) .06 (.87) .04 (1.04) .01 (1.14)

402 the ethnoracial difference for weight-related features was greater, F(1, 163) = 20.41, p < .001. However, the AA/EA difference for specific appearance features was not significant when BMI was controlled, F(1, 163) = 2.85, ns. To examine why controlling for BMI increased the effect size of the ethnoracial difference for weight-related features and decreased the effect size for specific appearance features, we examined the relation between BMI and the BIQ-weighted discrepancy scores separately for AA and EA women. (For correlations among these and all other study variables, see Table 3.) In the case of weight-related features, positive correlations with BMI were found for both EA women and AA women, as expected. As explained earlier, because BMI was related to dissatisfaction and AAs were heavier, it follows that controlling for BMI would increase the effect size of the difference between AA and EA women. In the case of specific appearance features, the correlation with BMI was negative for EAs and for AAs. Because heavier women had lower weighted discrepancy scores for specific appearance features and AA women were heavier, it follows that, by controlling for BMI, the effect size of the ethnoracial difference was reduced. Ideal-discrepancy and importance scores. To examine separately ethnoracial differences in ideal-discrepancy and importance scores for weight-related features, a one-way MANOVA was conducted with the weight-related features ideal-discrepancy and importance scores as the dependent variables and ethnoracial group as the independent variable. The MANOVA was significant, Wilkss Lambda = .90, F(2, 163) = 8.62, p < .001. With BMI controlled, EA women reported higher levels of weight-related idealdiscrepancy, F(1, 163) = 19.60, p < .001, and importance scores, F(1, 164) = 17.29, p < .001, than AA women. Note that, without controlling for BMI, effect sizes were attenuated for each variable, particularly the ideal-discrepancy score. Parallel analyses were performed for the specificappearance features factor. The MANOVA was significant, Wilkss Lambda = .93, F(2, 163) = 6.31, p < .01. With and without controlling for BMI, EA women reported significantly greater ideal discrepancies for specific-appearance features, F(1, 164) = 11.91, p < .001, but similar levels of importance for specific appearance features. A MANOVA that examined ethnoracial differences in ideal-discrepancy and importance scores separately for functional body characteristics was not significant, with or without BMI controlled. The average EA and AA idealdiscrepancy scores for strength and coordination fell at the anchor almost as I am, indicating only slight amounts of dissatisfaction, and the average importance scores for these features fell close to the anchor moderately important.

JEFFERSON AND STAKE

Note. Correlations for African American women are in lower left; correlations for European American women are in upper right. Factor 1 = weight-related features; Factor 2 = specific appearance features; Factor 3 = functional body characteristics; BIQ = Body Image Ideals Questionnaire. p < .05. p < .01. p < .001.

Table 3 Intercorrelations Among Study Variables

Specic Racially Dened Features

Because it has been hypothesized that AA women may be more troubled than EA women by their racially

1. Body mass index 2. Internalization 3. Media comparison 4. BIQ total score 5. Factor 1 weighted discrepancy 6. Factor 1 ideal discrepancy 7. Factor 1 importance 8. Factor 2 weighted discrepancy 9. Factor 2 ideal discrepancy 10. Factor 2 importance 11. Factor 3 weighted discrepancy 12. Factor 3 ideal discrepancy 13. Factor 3 importance

.14 .24 .13 .50 .56 .12 .25 .16 .20 .02 .17 .13

.21 .34 .31 .23 .03 .42 .23 .22 .27 .10 .22 .05

.15 .77 .08 .04 .06 .05 .02 .02 .31 .14 .19 .16

.32 .56 .56 .62 .51 .25 .59 .56 .08 .47 .44 .20

.64 .57 .48 .70 .84 .57 .12 .07 .09 .06 .01 .11

.68 .38 .28 .53 .88 .28 .12 .03 .11 .20 .02 .11

.24 .45 .37 .40 .55 .26 .16 .03 .00 .04 .01 .06

.17 .28 .36 .67 .08 .11 .08 .80 .10 .10 .21 .14

.14 .44 .44 .62 .20 .03 .22 .79 .09 .04 .03 .17

.30 .23 .24 .13 .09 .24 .00 .32 .31 .11 .25 .01

10

.07 .08 .00 .39 .02 .13 .01 .15 .05 .08 .73 .42

11

.06 .13 .06 .31 .13 .03 .12 .29 .04 .01 .75 .22

12

.08 .09 .09 .24 .05 .01 .08 .10 .09 .01 .50 .19

13

Appearance Self-Attitudes
Table 4 Ethnic Comparisons for Racially Defined Features
African Americans M (SD) Hair texture Weighted discrepancy Ideal discrepancy Importance Lips Weighted discrepancy Ideal discrepancy Importance Nose Weighted discrepancy Ideal discrepancy Importance Skin color Weighted discrepancy Ideal discrepancy Importance

403

European Americans M (SD) 2.13 (3.69) 1.15 (1.12) 2.09 (1.10) 0.18 (2.94) 0.55 (0.82) 1.71 (1.15) 1.02 (3.25) 0.80 (0.97) 1.62 (1.19) 1.57 (3.38) 1.08 (0.97) 1.76 (1.14)

F 1.22 1.90 2.34 4.55 6.05 0.06 0.90 1.38 0.82 26.89 45.26 3.59

d 0.17 0.21 0.24 0.33 0.36 0.04 0.15 0.18 0.13 0.82 0.95 0.29

1.45 (4.32) 0.92 (1.07) 2.39 (1.36) 0.72 (2.42) 0.29 (0.62) 1.76 (1.37) 0.54 (3.33) 0.62 (0.99) 1.45 (1.38) 0.71 (2.04) 0.29 (0.66) 1.38 (1.43)

p < .05. p < .001.

defined features, this question was investigated in a oneway MANOVA in which the weighted discrepancy scores of the following items served as the dependent variables: hair texture and thickness, lips, nose, and skin color. BMI was not covaried because, although BMI was related to the overall specific appearance features factor score, it was not significantly related to these selected items. The overall MANOVA was significant, Wilkss Lambda = .85, F(4, 162) = 7.12, p < .001. Univariate analyses revealed that EA women had significantly higher weighted discrepancy scores for lips and skin color; the group differences for nose and hair texture/thickness were not significant (see Table 4). To examine differences between EA and AA women in ideal-discrepancy and importance scores for racially defined features, two MANOVAs were conducted with ethnoracial group membership as the independent variable. The MANOVA for the four ideal-discrepancy items was significant, Wilkss Lambda = .78, F(4, 163) = 11.76, p < .001. Univariate analyses showed that EA women reported greater ideal discrepancies for lips and skin color. The second MANOVA was conducted with the importance values for these appearance features as the dependent variables. This MANOVA was also significant, Wilkss Lambda = .93, F(4, 162) = 2.86, p < .05. However, none of the univariate analyses were significant for these importance scores. As a follow-up to this analysis, the relative importance of each of the four features to AA and EA women was assessed in a 2 (ethnic group) 4 (specific feature) repeated measures analysis of variance. A quadratic within-subject effect was significant, F(1, 165) = 37.51, p < .0001, which

was explained in part by a quadratic interaction effect of ethnoracial group by appearance feature, F(1, 165) = 10.43, p < .001. Post hoc comparisons revealed greater differences in ratings across the four features for AA than for EA women (see Table 4). AA women rated their hair as more important than they rated any of the other three specific appearance features (p < .001). Hair was more important to EA women than were nose and lips (p < .05), but hair and skin color ratings were not significantly different. Of those AA women who reported some degree of dissatisfaction with their skin color (16.3%), 92.3% indicated they would like to have a lighter complexion and 7.7% desired to be darker. Of those EA women who reported some dissatisfaction with their skin color (67.4%), 96.7% wished to be darker and 3.3% wished to be lighter. Thus, more EA than AA women expressed a desire for a change in skin color, and only a small minority of our participants in either ethnoracial group expressed a wish for lighter skin.

Ethnoracial Differences in Media Comparisons and Internalization

As predicted, the reported rate of comparison to media figures for EA women, M = 3.01, SD = .89, was significantly higher than for AA women, M = 2.18, SD = .91, F(1, 167) = 36.03, p < .0001. A large effect was found between the AA and EA groups for media comparisons with and without BMI controlled (d = .89 vs. .92, respectively). Thus, this ethnoracial difference held across weight categories. AA womens mean score on the media comparison variable was about midway between the anchor points, not at all (1) and sometimes (3), whereas EA womens mean

404

JEFFERSON AND STAKE

Table 5 Summary of Simultaneous Regression Analyses Predicting Body Image Ideals Questionnaire Weighted Discrepancy Factor Scores from Media Comparisons and Internalization
African Americans (N = 80) Weight-related features Comparison Internalization Specific appearance features Comparison Internalization Functional body characteristics Comparison Internalization F 1.13 2.34 F 0.92 2.27 F 0.97 0.49 .14 .28 .11 .27 .12 .06 European Americans (N = 89) Weight-related features Comparison Internalization Specific appearance features Comparison Internalization Functional body characteristics Comparison Internalization F 0.66 3.60 F 2.27 0.03 F 0.94 1.20 .09 .50 .36 .01 .16 .20

Note. Comparison refers to frequency of Media Comparisons; Internalization refers to Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance ScaleInternalization. p < .05. p < .01.

score on the media comparison variable was just above the anchor sometimes. The majority of both EA and AA women reported that, when they do make media appearance comparisons, they compare themselves to women of their own ethnoracial group (63.3% and 73.2%, respectively). The remaining sample of EA (36.7%) and AA (26.8%) women indicated that they compare themselves to women of all ethnicities/races. No women reported that they compared themselves exclusively to women of an ethnicity/race that was not their own. For the internalization measure (SATAQ-IN), EA women scored higher, M = 2.81, SD = .92, than did AA women, M = 1.80, SD = .71, F(1, 167) = 61.82, p < .0001, indicating, as predicted, that EA women reported significantly greater internalization of Western societys notions of beauty than AA women. A very large effect was found with and without BMI controlled (d = 1.25 and 1.23, respectively). AA womens average score on the SATAQ-IN was close to the anchor not at all, indicating low levels of internalization of societal standards of beauty, whereas EA womens average response fell close to the anchor somewhat, indicating moderate levels of internalization.

Relation of Body Image to Media Comparisons and Internalization

We predicted that internalization would be related to body dissatisfaction in both AA and EA women but that media comparisons would relate to body dissatisfaction in EA women only. To assess these predictions, we first examined the first-order correlations between each of the three weighted discrepancy scores and media comparisons and internalization. The pattern of correlations fits our predictions closely (see Table 3). For AA women, correlations between media comparisons and the weight-related

and specific-appearance weighted discrepancy scores were near zero, whereas the correlations between internalization and the weight-related and specific-appearance weighted discrepancy scores were significant. In contrast, for EA women, correlations between media comparisons and the weight-related and specific-appearance weighted discrepancy scores were significant as well as the correlations between internalization and the weight-related and specificappearance weighted discrepancy scores. Correlations with the functional body characteristics factor were not significant for either group. To examine the unique variance in weighted discrepancy scores associated with media comparisons and internalization, relations between the weighted discrepancy scores and media comparisons and internalization were tested with a set of regression analyses. Media comparisons and internalization served as the two independent variables and were entered simultaneously. The decision to enter the variables together was based on the assumption that internalization and media comparison could each affect the other. Those who internalize societal standards may look to media ideals to check whether they are meeting the ideals, whereas media comparisons may promote internalization. For this analysis, it was not possible to test ethnoracial group as a moderator of the relation between the variables and body image directly by using interaction terms in the regression analysis (ethnic group by media comparisons and ethnic group by internalization) due to multicollinearity problems.2 Therefore, separate regression analyses were conducted for each ethnic group. When only the main effect terms were entered in the regression analyses, multicollinearity indices were within acceptable ranges. Table 5 provides the results of these analyses. For the AA women, findings parallel those found in the analysis of the zero-order correlations and are consistent with our

Appearance Self-Attitudes
predictions. Media comparisons were not significantly related to any of the weighted discrepancy scores, whereas internalization was positively related to weight-related features and specific-appearance features. For the EA women, weight-related features were significantly related to internalization and specific-appearance features were significantly related to media comparisons. However, the relation between weight-related features and media comparisons and the relation between specific-appearance features and internalization were not significant in these analyses. These results can be explained by the high correlation between EA media comparisons and EA internalization (r = .77). With the large amount of shared variance between media comparisons and internalization among EA women, we find that neither variable accounts for a significant amount of unique variance in both weight-related and specific-appearance features. In contrast to the EA group, the correlation between media comparisons and internalization among AA women was .32. The difference between the comparison/internalization correlations for the EA and AA women was significant (p < .001).

405 (2006) in their meta-analyses. However, because the AA women in our sample tended to be heavier than the EA women, and BMI was related to body dissatisfaction, the ethnoracial effect for body dissatisfaction was substantially larger when BMI was controlled, as predicted (d = .62). Our findings provide evidence that failing to control for body size, as has been the case in much previous research, results in an underestimation of differences in dissatisfaction for AA and EA women who are equal in body size. That is, the larger BMIs of AA study participants have attenuated otherwise larger racial differences in body attitudes. Examining ideal discrepancy and importance separately revealed additional information about differences between EA and AA women in weight concerns and highlighted a twofold problem for EA women. Not only did they view themselves as being further from their ideal weight and body size than did AA women (with BMI controlled), they also indicated that achieving their ideal weight and shape was of greater importance to them. Although many theorists have assumed that weight is more central to the body image of EA women compared with AA women, to our knowledge, this is the first time this difference has been empirically demonstrated. Not all body features were discounted by the AA women as having little importance, however. Consistent with the theory that nonweight features are more salient to AA women than are weight characteristics (Bond & Cash, 1992; Miller et al., 2000; Neal & Wilson, 1989), we found that specific appearance features were rated by AA women as moderately important, similar to the ratings of the EA women. Thus, specific appearance features appear to be of equal value to both groups in rating their attractiveness, yet AA women rated themselves as closer to their beauty ideals for these features. In fact, for the four specific racially defined appearance features, the AA women reported smaller ideal discrepancies than the EA women. Given that the mainstream beauty ideal requires not only thinness, but also Caucasoid features and lighter skin, these findings suggest that the AA women tended to reject White cultural norms of beauty, norms that may be seen as discriminating toward them and their ethnoracial group. Other findings from our study are consistent with the conclusion that the AA women were far less likely to accept White beauty norms than were the EA women: (a) nearly 84% of the AA women (in contrast to less than 33% of EA women) reported that they were satisfied with their current skin color; (b) AA women reported less internalization of societal beauty standards than EA women; (c) AA women reported less comparison to mainstream media figures than EA women; (d) media comparisons were not related to body dissatisfaction in AA women, as they were in EA women; and (e) the correlation between media comparisons and internalization was much weaker among AA women than among EA women. As noted earlier, social comparison theory may be useful in understanding differences in the attitudes of AA and EA women toward beauty ideals depicted in the media. As

Summary of Findings
Our results were generally consistent with our predictions and with previous research findings. EA women expressed more dissatisfaction (as measured by the weighted discrepancy score) with weight-related features than AA women, and this difference was greater when BMI was controlled. Significant racial differences were also found for the separate measures of ideal discrepancy and importance associated with weight-related features. In regard to the specific appearance features, EA and AA women were not significantly different in the importance they placed on these features for judging their appearance overall, but EA women had greater ideal-discrepancy scores. Surprisingly, EA woman reported greater ideal discrepancies for racially defined features. Further, EA women reported a greater frequency of media comparisons and a higher level of internalization of societal ideals than did AA women. For EA women, these variables were highly related to one another and to the weight-related and specific appearance scores. For AA women, only internalization related to any measure of body dissatisfaction. DISCUSSION EA women in our study reported significantly greater discontent with their weight and shape than AA women even though the AA women reported significantly larger body sizes. The average AA BMI was in the overweight range, whereas the average EA BMI was in the average range. The effect size we obtained for ethnoracial differences in weighted discrepancy scores for weight-related features was small before controlling for BMI (d = .29), mirroring that found by Grabe and Hyde (2006) and Roberts et al.

406 Festinger (1954) argued, the individuals self-image tends to be more affected by comparisons made to similar others. Perhaps then, AA women tend to dismiss the appearance standards portrayed in the mainstream media because they see few representations of themselves there. This explanation would help to explain the relatively weak correlation between media comparisons and internalization among the AA women. Further, AA women may be less threatened by the images of AA women they do see. In contrast to EA media figures, AA women in the media appear to represent a wider range of body sizes and physical features (Tirodkar & Jain, 2003). Thus, the beauty ideals that AA women internalize may be more balanced with regard to the attractiveness of their features, leading to fewer upward comparisons. Moreover, the presence of some attractive AA female figures in the media (heavy or slim) may have an empowering effect on AA women because of the longstanding exclusion of attractive, positive AA figures in the media (Schooler et al., 2004). A second explanation for the ethnoracial differences we observed and for the finding that AA women tend to reject White beauty norms lies in cultural differences in preferred standards of beauty. As discussed earlier, thinness is the epitome of beauty in Western culture, a standard that is reinforced by EA families, peers, and other social agents. In contrast, there is evidence that in the AA community a broader range of body types and a more inclusive notion of beauty is accepted, allowing for appreciation of AA womens individuality and unique characteristics (Parker et al., 1995). In particular, there is evidence that a larger body size is sometimes preferred by AA men and that AA women are aware of this preference (Greenberg & LaPorte, 1996; Jackson & McGill, 1996).3 Alternate standards of attractiveness and the rejection of White beauty standards among AAs may also be interpreted as a reaction to racist attitudes and discrimination. Crocker and Major (1989) argued that stigmatized groups often devalue the dimensions on which their group fares poorly, while placing greater value on dimensions for which their group fares well. Thus, some AA women may reject White beauty norms to buffer themselves from the effects of standards that discriminate against them and their ethnoracial group. Such defensive strategies, although they may protect AA women from dissatisfaction with their weight and shape, have potential negative consequences. First, as suggested by Beauboeuf-Lafontant (2003), the image of the AA woman as large and strong can be traced back to the days of slavery. Acceptance of this Mammy image can perpetuate the damaging myth of the oppressed yet resilient Black woman for whom adversity is natural, normal, and, therefore, acceptable. A second concern is that the acceptance of obesity reduces the motivation to maintain a healthy body weight. The rate of obesity among AA women has been reported to be twice that of EA women (Hedley et al., 2004). With this higher rate of obesity, AA women are at greater risk of a host of weight-related medical problems,

JEFFERSON AND STAKE including high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (Ruiz, Pepper, & Wilfley, 2003; Stern et al., 2006). Results for the physical strength and coordination factor were similar for the two ethnoracial groups. Both EA and AA women rated themselves as close to their ideal for these characteristics and reported moderate levels of importance for them. These findings are understandable because, as able-bodied students between the ages of 18 and 30 years old, the participants were generally healthy and fit. Further, they would not have experienced much pressure to improve on this dimension because young women need not excel in this area to be considered attractive. As described earlier, Cash and his colleagues (e.g., Cash et al., 2004) have encouraged researchers to measure separately selfideal discrepancies in judgments of attractiveness and the importance the individual places on the appearance features described. They have also suggested the value of a weighted discrepancy score to represent a composite index of experienced distress or dissatisfaction associated with the appearance feature. Indeed, we found that separate measures of selfideal discrepancies and importance provided unique information that furthered our understanding of the nature of ethnoracial body image differences. Moreover, it appears that a single index that incorporates both aspects of self-judgment provided still further information about these differences and may be considered a more accurate measure of body dissatisfaction than measures of body dissatisfaction that are most often used in body image research. Future researchers should consider adopting Cashs measurement approach for the study of body image. Aspects of appearance unrelated to weight and shape have generally been ignored in research on womens body image, and our study represents an initial attempt to identify other significant body features of interest. The analysis of the BIQ items revealed a readily interpretable factor pattern; however, some problems with the factors we derived from the BIQ should be noted. The factor corresponding to specific appearance features included two items with low factor loadings, and only two items were identified for the physical strength and coordination factor. Future research should be devoted to the further development of multidimensional measures of body self-evaluation that include features beyond body weight and shape. There are some additional limitations to our findings that should be noted. First, our measure of body size was the BMI. This index can provide an accurate estimate of the extent to which the participant is conforming to the slim body size emphasized in current White beauty ideals and was, therefore, the appropriate measure for the purposes of this study. However, BMI does not take into account percent of body fat, muscle, and bone density and so is only an approximate measure of healthy body weight. Future research should include measures of body size and composition more predictive of good health so as to expand

Appearance Self-Attitudes
our understanding of how girls and women are affected by social pressures to attain the White beauty ideal. A second potential limitation of the study is that the researchers with whom participants had contact were EA women, and it may be that the AA women were less willing than their EA counterparts to reveal information about their body size and attitudes about their body to the researchers. However, there is reason to believe that the AA women were open about their weight status and body image, at least to the same extent as the EA women. As a group, they reported a BMI in the overweight range, higher than that of EA women, and their reports of the importance of specific appearance features were similar to those of the EA women. It is also possible that the EA participants were less likely to report their height and weight accurately because the researchers were EA women. However, in regard to the general validity of self-reports of body size, there is evidence of a high correlation between self-reported and objectively measured height and weight (.96; Nieto-Garcia et al., 1990). The concern that participants were not honest in reporting is further allayed because our procedures allowed for the full anonymity of participants. A further study limitation is that all participants were college students, and findings may not be generalizable beyond a college student population. In particular, research with older adults may reveal a higher level of importance for, and greater dissatisfaction with, functional body characteristics. Also, perhaps the differences in body image attitudes of EA and AA women are less pronounced in lower-income communities, where the average BMI of EA women is higher. Research has shown that women of lower SES, regardless of race, tend to have larger bodies and perceive larger body types as more attractive than do women of higher SES (Allan, Mayo, & Michel, 1993). More research is needed with noncollege populations. Even so, research with college samples is important in this area of study because college women have been shown to be particularly vulnerable to body image disturbance. Further, our participants were recruited from a university with nontraditional as well as traditional college students, and most worked either part or full time while attending school. Our findings are therefore not limited to the traditional college student. In conclusion, our findings provide evidence that EA women are more vulnerable to body image concerns than are AA women, having not only discontent with their body size, as previously reported, but with specific appearance features as well. Further, our AA women were less likely to compare themselves to media figures or to internalize societal beauty standards, and their body dissatisfaction was not related to media comparisons. However, as more AA women appear in the media over time, it is possible that there may be a shift within the AA community toward greater acceptance of Western beauty ideals and greater internalization of less attainable beauty standards. Indeed, the media images of AA women can be as exclusionary as

407 those of EA women (Schooler et al., 2004; Perkins, 1996). It is vital that researchers continue to study the factors that contribute to both EA and AA womens vulnerability to body dissatisfaction. Unfortunately, as long as our Western society continues to showcase the female body as an object to be judged and perhaps admired, women will be at risk for body image dissatisfaction.
Initial submission: June 2, 2008 Initial acceptance: May 14, 2009 Final acceptance: May 14, 2009

NOTES 1. The pattern and size of on-target and off-target loadings for BIQ items were highly similar for AA and EA women. Mean target loadings for AAs and EAs, respectively, were: Factor 1, .83 and .87; Factor 2, .56 and .57; and Factor 3, .81 and .80. 2. This problem typically occurs when testing interactions because of the unavoidably high correlation between interaction terms and previously entered variables. Although this problem is often resolved through centering the variables, multicollinearity remained unacceptably high in this case even after centering. 3. There appears to be a limit to this acceptance of large body sizes among AAs. Severely overweight AA girls (BMI > 40) do report that they are the target of teasing by their AA peers, and the majority of severely overweight AA girls and their mothers express concern about their weight (Stern et al., 2006).

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