Developing a Culturally-Sensitive Eating Disorders Measure for South Asian American Women

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PROJECT SUMMARY Eating disorders (EDs) are serious psychiatric illnesses that are associated with high physical and psychological impairment, morbidity and mortality, and comorbid psychopathology. Despite similar ED prevalence estimates, South Asians (SAs), individuals descending from the subcontinent of India, including Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives, are less likely to be assessed, referred, or treated for an ED relative to their White counterparts. Additionally, when SA women do present for treatment, they usually wait until their symptoms are severe enough to cause physical complications, and they are more likely to be dismissed by health providers relative to their White peers. These disparities can be attributed, in part, to methodological challenges related to ED assessment in SAs. The few studies conducted with SAs have primarily utilized Western diagnostic tools that were normed and validated with White, European women, limiting generalizability to SA communities. Because these instruments do not capture symptoms and constructs relevant to SA women's experiences of EDs, our current understanding of the manifestations and prevalence of these conditions within this population is potentially inaccurate. To remedy this issue, this application will culturally-adapt and modify the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) for SA women living in the United States. This work will improve identification of EDs in this underserved group, and, in the long-term, could be used to facilitate health providers' assessment of SA women. In sum, the proposed tool will serve as the necessary steppingstone for advancing understanding of the classification of ED presentations among SAs.