The sociocultural model of eating disorder development: Application to a Guatemalan sample ☆ Jillon S. Vander Wal a, ⁎ , Judith L. Gibbons a,1 , Maria del Pilar Grazioso b,2 a Saint Louis University, Department of Psychology, 221 North Grand Blvd, St. Louis MO, 63103, USA b Departamento de Psicología, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, 18 Avenida 11-95 Zona 15. Vista Hermosa III, Guatemala, Guatemala Received 30 May 2007; received in revised form 8 October 2007; accepted 26 October 2007 Abstract Exposure to Western ideals of appearance along with rapid societal change appears to be salient risk factors for eating disorder development. According to the sociocultural model, internalization of the thin ideal leads to body dissatisfaction and subsequent negative affect and dieting behaviors which increase the risk for eating disorder development. An expanded version of the sociocultural model was examined among an economically stratified sample of 347 girls in grades 5 and 6 from Guatemala City. Questionnaires used to measure disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors, body dissatisfaction, social sensitivity, and internalization of the thin ideal were administered and BMI was calculated following measurement of height and weight. Path analyses showed that the expanded sociocultural model was an excellent fit to the data. Both elevated adiposity and social sensitivity led to increased body dissatisfaction and thin ideal internalization. Thin ideal internalization led to body dissatisfaction and to disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors. Results suggest that developing countries are not immune to the influence of sociocultural risk factors for eating disorders. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Eating disorders; Body image; Culture; Guatemala; Children; Adiposity; Social anxiety 1. Introduction Risk factors for eating disorders, ranging from an ideographic to a cultural level have been identified. Risk factors at the cultural level include rapid economic development, industrialization, urbanization, and modernization as well as accompanying societal level change such as shifting gender roles, exposure to the cultural practices of other societies, and varying societal norms. Perhaps the most widely researched of these risk factors is exposure to the so-called Western ideal of thinness. Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Eating Behaviors 9 (2008) 277 – 284 ☆ Note. Portions of the present data were presented at the 2007th Annual Meeting of the Society for Cross-Cultural Research, San Antonio, TX. ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 314 977 2282; fax: +1 314 977 1006. E-mail addresses: jillonv@yahoo.com (J.S. Vander Wal), gibbonsjl@slu.edu (J.L. Gibbons), mpgderod@uvg.edu.gt (M. del Pilar Grazioso). 1 Tel.: +1 314 977 2295; fax: +1 314 977 1006. 2 Tel.: +502 23690791x573; fax: +502 23695233. 1471-0153/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2007.10.002