Disordered eating behaviors and experiences of violence among Mexican youth with different sexual orientations: A population-based study

Luis Ortiz-Hernández, Jesús Abrahán Ruiz Rosas, Carolina Ayala-Hilario

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17711/10.17711/SM.0185-3325.2021.016

Abstract


Introduction. In high-income countries, sexual minorities are at a higher risk for disordered eating behaviors. It is not known whether these findings can be extrapolated to Mexico.

Objective. Determine whether there are any differences in disordered eating behaviors among Mexican youth according to sexual orientation and analyze the potential role of experiences of violence and discrimination as mediators of these differences.

Method. Data from a representative sample of Mexican youth (12 to 29 years old, n = 27,876) were analyzed. Three groups were identified: young people who were not in love (NIL), who were in love with people of the opposite sex (ILOS), or in love with people of the same sex (ILSS). Restrictive behaviors, secret eating, and self-induced vomiting were identified through a scale created for the survey.

Results. ILSS men had a higher risk of restrictive thoughts and behaviors (B = .31), secret eating (OR = 2.21), and self-induced vomiting (OR = 3.65) than ILOS youth. Among women, there was only a difference in self-induced vomiting (RM = 2.49). In both sexes, being a young ILSS had an indirect effect on restrictive behaviors through its association with experiences of violence, discrimination at school, and sexual violence.

Discussion and conclusion. Mexican sexual minority men are at a higher risk of disordered eating behaviors, whereas sexual minority women are at a higher risk of purging. Part of the differences in restrictive behaviors were explained by the increased risk for experiences of prejudice faced by sexual minority youth.

Keywords


Sexual orientation; eating and food ingestion disorders; inequities; discrimination; violence; gender

Full Text:

HTML PDF EPUB

References


Alvy, L. M. (2013). Do lesbian women have a better body image? Comparisons with heterosexual women and model of lesbian-specific factors. Body Image, 10(4), 524-534. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2013.06.002

Austin, S. B., Nelson, L. A., Birkett, M. A., Calzo, J. P., & Everett, B. (2013). Eating disorder symptoms and obesity at the intersections of gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation in US high school students. American Journal of Public Health, 103(2), e16-22. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.301150

Austin, S. B., Ziyadeh, N. J., Corliss, H. L., Rosario, M., Wypij, D., Haines, J., … Field, A. E. (2009). Sexual orientation disparities in purging and binge eating from early to late adolescence. Journal of Adolescent Health, 45(3), 238-245. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.02.001

Badgett, M. V. (2009). Best practices for asking questions about sexual orientation on surveys. UCLA: The Williams Institute.

Bankoff, S. M., & Pantalone, D. W. (2014). Patterns of disordered eating behavior in women by sexual orientation: A review of the literature. Eating Disorders, 22(3), 261-274. doi: 10.1080/10640266.2014.890458

Bayer, V., Robert-McComb, J. J., Clopton, J. R., & Reich, D. A. (2017). Investigating the influence of shame, depression, and distress tolerance on the relationship between internalized homophobia and binge eating in lesbian and bisexual women. Eating Behaviors, 24, 39-44. doi: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2016.12.001

Bulgin, D., & Frederick Amar, A. (2016). The relationship between sexual violence and disordered eating. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 37(7), 493-500. doi: 10.3109/01612840.2016.1172685

Calzo, J. P., Blashill, A. J., Brown, T. A., & Argenal, R. L. (2017). Eating disorders and disordered weight and shape control behaviors in sexual minority populations. Current Psychiatry Reports, 19(8), 49. doi: 10.1007/s11920-017-0801-y

Calzo, J. P., Masyn, K. E., Corliss, H. L., Scherer, E. A., Field, A. E., & Austin, S. B. (2015). Patterns of body image concerns and disordered weight- and shape-related behaviors in heterosexual and sexual minority adolescent males. Developmental Psychology, 51(9), 1216-1225. doi: 10.1037/dev0000027

Carlat, D. J., Camargo, C. A., Jr., & Herzog, D. B. (1997). Eating disorders in males: A report on 135 patients. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154(8), 1127-1132. doi: 10.1176/ajp.154.8.1127

Cervantes-Luna, B. S., Escoto, C., Camacho, E. J., & Bosques, L. E. (2019). Ideales estéticos, imagen corporal, actitudes y conductas alimentarias en hombres con diferente orientación sexual. Revista Mexicana de Trastornos Alimentarios, 10(1), 66-74. doi: 10.22201/fesi.20071523e.2019.1.529

Copeland, W. E., Bulik, C. M., Zucker, N., Wolke, D., Lereya, S. T., & Costello, E. J. (2015). Does childhood bullying predict eating disorder symptoms? A prospective, longitudinal analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 48(8), 1141-1149. doi: 10.1002/eat.22459

Gigi, I., Bachner-Melman, R., & Lev-Ari, L. (2016). The association between sexual orientation, susceptibility to social messages and disordered eating in men. Appetite, 99, 25-33. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2015.12.027

Hadland, S. E., Austin, S. B., Goodenow, C. S., & Calzo, J. P. (2014). Weight misperception and unhealthy weight control behaviors among sexual minorities in the general adolescent population. Journal of Adolescent Health, 54(3), 296-303. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.08.021

Instituto Mexicano de la Juventud [IMJ]. (2012). Encuesta Nacional de Juventud 2010 (ENJUVE 2010). Retrieved form http://www.imjuventud.gob.mx/pagina.php?pag_id=137 https://www.gob.mx/imjuve/documentos/base-de-datos-de-la-encuesta-nacional-de-juventud-2010 (Access date: 30 de marzo, 2015)

Katz-Wise, S. L., & Hyde, J. S. (2012). Victimization experiences of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals: A meta-analysis. Journal of Sex Research, 49(2-3), 142-167. doi: 10.1080/00224499.2011.637247

Laska, M. N., VanKim, N. A., Erickson, D. J., Lust, K., Eisenberg, M. E., & Simon Rosser, B. R. (2015). Disparities in weight and weight behaviors by sexual orientation in college students. American Journal of Public Health, 105(1), 111-121. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.302094

Lee, K. S., & Vaillancourt, T. (2019). A four-year prospective study of bullying, anxiety, and disordered eating behavior across early adolescence. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 50(5), 815-825. doi: 10.1007/s10578-019-00884-7

Lippa, R. A. (2005). Sexual orientation and personality. Annual Review of Sex Research, 16(1), 119-153. doi: 10.1080/10532528.2005.10559831

Matthews-Ewald, M. R., Zullig, K. J., & Ward, R. M. (2014). Sexual orientation and disordered eating behaviors among self-identified male and female college students. Eating Behaviors, 15(3), 441-444. doi: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2014.05.002

Mendoza-Pérez, J. C., & Ortiz-Hernández, L. (2019). Violence as mediating variable in mental health disparities associated to sexual orientation among Mexican youths. Journal of Homosexuality, 66(4), 510-532. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2017.1422938

Meyer, I. (2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129(5), 674-697. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674

Meyer, I. H., & Wilson, P. A. (2009). Sampling lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56(1), 23-31. doi: 10.1037/a0014587

Moore, F., & Keel, P. K. (2003). Influence of sexual orientation and age on disordered eating attitudes and behaviors in women. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 34(3), 370-374. doi: 10.1002/eat.10198

Morrison, M. A., Morrison, T. G., & Sager, C. L. (2004). Does body satisfaction differ between gay men and lesbian women and heterosexual men and women? A meta-analytic review. Body Image, 1(2), 127-138. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2004.01.002

Moyer, D. M., DiPietro, L., Berkowitz, R. I., & Stunkard, A. J. (1997). Childhood sexual abuse and precursors of binge eating in an adolescent female population. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 21(1), 23-30. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199701)21:1<23::aid-eat3>3.0.co;2-5

Preacher, K. J., Rucker, D. D., & Hayes, A. F. (2007). Addressing moderated mediation hypotheses: theory, methods, and prescriptions. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 42(1), 185-227. doi: 10.1080/00273170701341316

Rabe-Hesketh, S., Skrondal, A., & Pickles, A. (2004). Generalized multilevel structural equation modeling. Psychometrika, 69(2), 167-190. doi: 10.1007/BF02295939

Raffalovich, L. E., Deane, G. D., Armstrong, D., & Tsao, H.-S. (2008). Model selection procedures in social research: Monte-Carlo simulation results. Journal of Applied Statistics, 35(10), 1093-1114. doi: 10.1080/03081070802203959

Rothman, E. F., Exner, D., & Baughman, A. L. (2011). The prevalence of sexual assault against people who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual in the United States: a systematic review. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 12(2), 55-66. doi: 10.1177/1524838010390707

Sampasa-Kanyinga, H., & Willmore, J. (2015). Relationships between bullying victimization psychological distress and breakfast skipping among boys and girls. Appetite, 89, 41-46. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2015.01.020

Schaefer, L. M., & Thompson, J. K. (2018). Self-objectification and disordered eating: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 51(6), 483-502. doi: 10.1002/eat.22854

Siconolfi, D. E., Kapadia, F., Moeller, R. W., Eddy, J. A., Kupprat, S. A., Kingdon, M. J., & Halkitis, P. N. (2016). Body dissatisfaction in a diverse sample of young men who have sex with men: The P18 Cohort Study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 45(5), 1227-1239. doi: 10.1007/s10508-015-0592-3

Vitae, F. l. (2015). A cross-cultural study of body dissatisfaction among Mexican and Mexican-American women (Doctor of Philosophy Thesis). Arizona, United States of America: Arizona State University.

Watson, R. J., Adjei, J., Saewyc, E., Homma, Y., & Goodenow, C. (2017). Trends and disparities in disordered eating among heterosexual and sexual minority adolescents. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 50(1), 22-31. doi: 10.1002/eat.22576

Yean, C., Benau, E. M., Dakanalis, A., Hormes, J. M., Perone, J., & Timko, C. A. (2013). The relationship of sex and sexual orientation to self-esteem, body shape satisfaction, and eating disorder symptomatology. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 887. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00887

Zou, C., & Andersen, J. P. (2015). Comparing the rates of early childhood victimization across sexual orientations: Heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and mostly heterosexual. PloS One, 10(10), e0139198. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139198


Bookmark and Share