"There aren’t a lot of things that are made for Latinos”: A qualitative investigation of factors that contribute to Latine women’s positive and negative body image

Abstract

Although there has been an increased focus on ethnic diversity in eating-disorder and body-image research, a gap exists in body image programs specifically designed for Latine women. To create programs that are culturally sensitive and relevant, it is important to first understand factors that contribute to Latine women’s conceptualizations of body image. Drawing upon open-ended semi-structured interviews with Latine women (N=19, M_age=20, SD_age=1.74), the objective of the current study was to explore Latine women’s perceptions of the factors contributing to positive and negative body image. Employing a constructivist grounded theoretical approach, verbatim interview transcripts were analyzed using an iterative, multi-phased inductive process. The results are organized around two themes: Latine women’s experiences with negative body image and their experiences with positive body image. Three subthemes were identified reflecting participants’ experiences with negative body image: appearance standards imposed on Latine women, complex relationship with food, and communication challenges. Five subthemes emerged from the interviews to capture Latine women’s experiences with positive body image: reframing body ideals, reframing relationships with food, community support, seeking out representation, and focus on body functionality. These findings may inform future body image program cultural adaptation efforts by integrating cultural aspects of negative and positive body image.