Abstract

SILVA, Cecilia; MILLAN DIAZ, Bertha Aurora  and  GONZALEZ ALCANTARA, Karla Edith. Gender role and eating attitudes in adolescents from two different socio-cultural contexts: Traditional vs. non-traditional. Rev. Mex. de trastor. aliment [online]. 2017, vol.8, n.1, pp.40-48. ISSN 2007-1523.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmta.2016.12.002.

The objective of this study was to know the gender roles that predict negative attitudes towards eating among adolescents from two different sociocultural contexts of Mexico (traditional vs. non-traditional). Participants were 392 women between 13 to 18 years old (M = 15.04; SD= 1.32) from two different sociocultural contexts: traditional (Pungarabato, Guerrero) and non-traditional (Mexico City) who answered the Masculinity and Femininity Inventory (IMAFE) and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-40). Results showed that negative characteristics of gender role predict negative attitudes towards eating: Submission for adolescents from traditional contexts, and Machismo for those from non-traditional contexts. This study proposes that social contexts in which young population grow influence their eating attitudes and therefore, may be considered as a risk factor for the development of symptomatology of eating disorders. This research supports the need to design prevention campaigns according the type of population.

Keywords : Gender role; Sociocultural contexts; Femininity; Masculinity; Eating disorders.