(PS5-53) Examining Racial Identity Invalidation, Curvy Ideal Internalization, and Maladaptive Orthorexia Symptoms in Black-White Multiracial Women

Abstract Text: Black-White (B/W) multiracial women frequently encounter unique discriminatory stressors due to holding combined races of opposite social status such as racial identity invalidation (RII), putting them at a higher risk of negative health outcomes, particularly disordered eating. Specifically, RII based on one’s physical appearance may be particularly harmful to B/W multiracial women as having concurrent membership in multiple racial groups can exacerbate this by experiencing conflicting body ideals. For example, B/W multiracial women may simultaneously experience Eurocentric pressures of thinness in tandem with the contrasting preference for curvier bodies valued in Black communities. Moreover, in efforts to cope with these embodiment-related stressors, they may be vulnerable to endorsing maladaptive orthorexia symptoms (M-OS), referring to the overvaluing and preoccupation with “healthy” eating. Notably, there remains a lack of scholarship to specifically evaluate these relationships. Therefore, the current study investigated the indirect effects of RII on M-OS via curvy ideal internalization (CII) in a community sample of 290 age-diverse (M = 34, SD = 9.7) B/W multiracial women living in the US. Approximately, 62% of participants racially identified as a mixed person and 71.2% considered themselves able to pass as multiple racial or ethnic groups, based on their physical appearance. Positive associations were observed between M-OS and RII frequency (RII-F; r = .17, p<.01), RII distress (RII-D; r = .26, p<.01), CII global (CII-G) score (r = .23, p<.01), CII thin waist subscale scores (r = .22, p<.01), CII thick/curvy subscale scores (r = .13, p<.05), and CII breast size subscale scores (r = .22, p<.01). Additionally, RII-D was positively associated with CII-G (r = .20, p<.01), CII thick/curvy (r = .18, p<.01), and CII breast size (r = .23, p<.01). Furthermore, RII-F was positively correlated with CII breast size (r = .13, p<.05). Notably, the relationships between RII-F, CII-G, CII thin waist, and CII thick/curvy, and RII-D and CII thin waist were not significant. Partially consistent with hypotheses, the indirect effect of RII-D on M-OS via CII-G was the only model that emerged as significant (β = .04, 95% CI: .01 to .07). Moreover, when compared in a combined, multiple indirect effect model, neither the CII thin waist, CII thick/curvy, or CII breast size subscales emerged as a stronger contributor in the indirect effect of RII on M-OS. In terms of variance accounted for, RII-F and CII-G, and CII thin waist subscale explained 8% of the variance in M-OS scores (p < .001), whereas RII-D accounted for 11% of the variance in M-OS scores (p < .001). RII-F and CII thick/curvy subscale explained 4% of the variance in M-OS scores (p < .001), while RII-D accounted for 8% (p < .001). Findings suggest that RII-D and overall CII may be relevant socio-contextual factors that contribute to experiences of M-OS in B/W multiracial women. Results highlight the need to tailor cognitive behavioral theory for disordered eating to include sociocultural factors such as internalization of more diverse cultural body ideals (e.g., CII) and unique discriminatory stressors (e.g., RII-D) that are associated with orthorexic eating practices in B/W multiracial women.