Abstract
Background: Emotion dysregulation and the internalization of sociocultural body image norms have been individually associated with eating pathology, but most studies utilized samples that were female, not ethnically diverse, or experiencing only diagnosable levels of eating pathology. Purpose: This study sought to better explain the relationship between emotion dysregulation and disordered eating in an ethnically diverse sample of men and women. Internalization of sociocultural body image norms was examined as a potential moderating variable. Methods: Participants were 178 undergraduate students (121 women, 30% immigrants, over 40% identified as African/African-Caribbean ethnic backgrounds). Participants completed self-report measures including: DERS; EDI-2, SATAQ-3, and MBAS. Results: There were no significant differences between sexes on emotion dysregulation, internalization, or disordered eating. Internalization was found to moderate the relationship between emotion dysregulation and eating pathology. Discussion: High emotion dysregulation only predicted disordered eating when internalization was also high, while low internalization appears to buffer the impact of emotion dysregulation on disordered eating. These findings suggest that low internalization could protect against the development of disordered eating. Translation to Health Education Practice: Findings provide guidance for developing effective prevention and intervention strategies for disordered eating in at-risk populations.