Problematic eating behaviors among college women: suggesting a subgroup

Problematic eating behaviors and attitudes are a major problem for men and especially women across the country. A particularly vulnerable group of women to eating disorders and skewed perception of their bodies are college women with 86% of women reporting onset of their eating disorder by the age of twenty (ANAD, 2000). Previous research suggests that women in sororities report higher insistences and experiences with eating behaviors and attitudes associated with eating disorders. The current study hypothesized that sorority women will have higher reported levels of problematic eating behaviors and attitudes associated with eating disorders than non-sorority women. The participants were split into two groups of sorority women or non-sorority women, and were asked to complete the Eating Disorder Inventory-3 (2004). An independent samples t-test was used to compare the means on the Eating Disorder Inventory-3 between the sorority and non-sorority women. A significant difference was found between the sorority women\u27s and non-sorority women\u27s score on the eating disorder risk composite. Interpretation of the findings is discussed in light of limitations in the research design. Implications for more and extensive research of the at-risk subgroup of sorority women are discussed