Prevalence of eating disorders among African American women

This study was the first to establish Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) prevalence rates for eating disorders by targeting an entire sample of African American college women. Participants were 413 African American women enrolled at a large, predominantly Caucasian public university in the midwestern United States. Participants were given the Questionnaire for Eating Disorder Diagnoses (L. B. Mintz, M. S. O'Halloran, A. M. Mulholland, & P. A. Schneider, 1997). No respondents were classified as having anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, and 2% were classified as having an eating disorder not otherwise specified. Twenty-three percent were classified as symptomatic. Although there is some evidence that these prevalence rates may be underestimated, they are nevertheless in the same range as those obtained for comparative Caucasian samples. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.