Contemporary: Becker Flashcards
Aim
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the recent introduction of Western television on disordered eating among ethnic (indigenous) Fijian adolescent girls
Method
A naturalistic multi-wave cross-sectional design in which two separate samples of ethnic Fijian adolescent girls were assessed in Nadroga, Fiji.
The first wave occurred in 1995, within a few weeks of the introduction of television to Nadroga (63 girls), and the second in 1998, after the area had been exposed to television for 3 years (65 girls).
They completed a 26-item eating attitudes test (EAT-26) included questions concerning bingeing and purging. In addition, subjects responded to questions concerning household ownership of television and frequency of television viewing. Weight and height were measured also.
Results
First, the percentage of subjects with EAT-26 scores greater than 20 was 12.7% in 1995, compared with 29.2% in 1998
The percentage of subjects reporting self-induced vomiting to control weight was 0% in 1995 but had reached 11.3% by 1998
Of the subjects interviewed, 83% responded that they felt television had specifically influenced their friends and/or themselves to feel differently about or change their body shape or weight
Conclusion
The impact of television appears especially profound, given the longstanding cultural traditions that previously had appeared protective against dieting, purging and body dissatisfaction in Fiji
+high ecological V
This study is high in ecological validity since it took place in a natural environment and we didn’t manipulate anything about the situation only measured their attitudes towards eating (they were getting television regardless)
+reliable
The results of this study are reliable as it is supported by other research which shows similar findings i.e. Fearn, 1999 which found an increase in eating disorders in Fiji with the introduction of American television programmes, which emphasise a westernised idealised body shape (Fearn, 1999).
-EAT-26 isnt a diagnostic
EAT-26 is not a formal clinical diagnostic tool and so how much it can actually tell us about eating disorders is questionable.
-DC and social desirability
The fact that this is a self-report method means that it is open to demand characteristics and social desirability when filled in by participants.
-disingenuous
8 girls at the beginning had high scores to begin with so it is disingenuous to suggest that disordered eating was totally no-existence before the introduction of TV
-EVs
There are many extraneous variables which may affect the results such as a rise in consumerism. Thus, television is potentially only one of several social factors contributing to the increased prevalence of high EAT-26 scores and induced vomiting in the 1998 sample
