White public regard: Associations among eating disorder symptomatology, guilt, and White guilt in young adult women

Abstract

Objective: As a novel investigation of the role of White racial identity, the current study explored the link between White guilt and disordered eating. Participants: Young adult women (N=375), 200 of whom self-identified as White. Methods: Measures assessed disordered eating, trait guilt, White guilt, and affect. Results: White guilt is interrelated with disordered eating, particularly bulimic symptomatology. Distress tolerance and tendency to experience negative affect moderated the relation between White guilt and several disordered eating variables. Conclusions: Exploration of White guilt in clinical and research settings can inform understanding and treatment of disordered eating. © 2013.