Poster Presentation
Friday, 21 July 2006
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Friday, 21 July 2006
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM
This presentation is part of : Poster Presentations III
Body Image, Body Weight, and African American Women
Dorothy Coverson, RN, MSN and Ora Strickland, RN, PhD. Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
Learning Objective #1: describe obesity trends in the United States.
Learning Objective #2: discuss three factors that influence body image in African American women.
Background: African American women (AAW) have the highest rates of overweight and obesity of any group, and report less self-esteem disturbances, body image disturbances, and body size dissatisfaction at higher BMI’s than Caucasian women (CW). African Americans have been found to favor larger body sizes in AAW and Caucasians have been found to favor smaller body sizes in CW. These sociocultural factors translate into social constructions of weight preferences in women.

Purpose: To develop a culturally sensitive measure of perceptions of weight in AAW. 

Methods: A cultural studies analysis of representations of women in American culture: Mammy, Aunt Jemima, Barbie, and Twiggy tropes, a feminist analysis, and a literature review from 1980–2005 using MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PSYCHINFO was conducted.

Results: No measure to assess perceptions of weight in AAW was discovered. A 30-item measure, the Weight Perception and Control Scale (WPCS), was constructed.  The tool was derived from a concept analysis of weight and contains three subscales: self-image/weight control, social support/weight control, and weight management. Items are scored on a 5-point Likert scale with scores ranging from 30-150.

Discussion: Findings from the cultural studies and feminist analysis, the literature review, and pilot test of the WPCS will be presented.  

See more of Poster Presentations III
See more of The 17th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice (19-22 July 2006)