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Masculinity
and the sex-specific function of dieting among Russian students
Barbara Klingenspor
What causes bulimic symptoms and eating disorders remains unclear. One limitation of the research so far is
that non Western populations were rarely examined. In general, girls and women are primarily affected. The underlying causes are
thought to be gender-related. Many studies examined stereotypical attributes that are directly and indirectly associated with gender.
In contrast to the traditional idea that bulimic symptoms are related to an actual or self-perceived deficit of feminine-typed traits,
I found a suppression of masculine-typed traits. In order to cross-validate this link between bulimic symptoms and masculine-typed traits
in a non-Western sample, an anonymous questionnaire study was replicated in Ekaterinburg
- a remote part of Russia that was closed to foreign influences
for decades - in 1993, before the market-type reforms could take
hold. Measurements of the relevant variables - feminine
and masculine traitsfeminine
- cheerful
- soft spoken
- understanding
masculine
- ambitious
- dominant
- independent
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, self-esteem, frequency of dieting and
bulimic symptoms - were obtained from 619 students. Food restrictions
due to economic limitations were measured independent of self-imposed
restrictions in order to lose weight. Mean and covariance structures
were analyzed with the computer program EQS.
The specified model was confirmed and new findings were integrated:
1. Women dieted for self-esteem and physical attractiveness,
whereas men only dieted for physical attractiveness. 2. The correlation between
dieting and masculinity was close to zero in both groups. However,
the structural equation analyses uncovered a significant
relationship between dieting and the perception of masculine
traits in women. The correlation was insignificant because masculinity
was a suppressor variable in this group. 3. The direction of
the effect of dieting depended on whether a woman´s masculinity
score was above or below the average. Dieting had a negative
effect (-.25) on masculinity for those who were high on masculinity,
whereas it had a positive effect (+.25) for those who were low.
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Fig. 1. Structural model with standardized maximum likelihood
parameter estimates for women and men (in parentheses).
Note: Circles represent latent variables, unidirectional
arrows depict hypothesized causal links, and bidirectional arrows
reflect correlations between variables. Blue (m) or red (r) lines
symbolize relationships that are only signficant for men or for
women.
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In Search of Golden Rules (SEM,
2004)
Multivariate Software, Inc.
EQS. Structural Equation Modeling Software
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