Culturally-Based Communication about Health, Eating, and Food: Development and validation of the CHEF scale.

Ethnic minority populations in the United States are disproportionately affected by obesity. To address this disparity, research has begun to investigate the role of culture, ethnicity, and experiences with racism on food choices and health interventions. The aim of the current study was to develop and evaluate a new scale measuring the extent to which individuals' culture, as they perceive it, influences perceptions of food-related health messages. A diverse sample of 422 college students responded to the item pool, as well as surveys on race-related stress, self-efficacy in making healthy food choices, ethnic identity, and social support for health-related behaviors. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses produced a five-factor model: Connection (the extent to which food connected individuals with their culture), Authority (beliefs that health care providers were familiar with individuals' cultural foods), Unhealthy Food Perceptions (beliefs that individuals' cultural foods were perceived as unhealthy), Healthy Food Perceptions (beliefs that others perceive individuals' cultural foods to be healthy), and Social Value (the extent to which social relationships are improved by shared cultural food traditions). Authority and Healthy Food Perceptions were related to individuals' confidence in their ability to make healthy food choices. Authority was inversely correlated with negative coping with racism-related events. Ethnic identity was significantly correlated with all but Unhealthy Food Perceptions. Race/ethnicity differences were identified for Healthy Food Perceptions, Unhealthy Food Perceptions, Social Value, Connection, but not Authority. Applications and suggestions for further research using the Culturally-based Communication about Health, Eating, and Food (CHEF) Scale are proposed.

ADHD symptoms and academic adjustment to college: the role of parenting style.

OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this study was to examine relationships among parenting style, symptoms of ADHD, and academic adjustment in college students. Specifically, we investigated whether parenting style may act as a buffer in the negative relationship between ADHD symptoms and academic adjustment. METHOD: Participants were 200 undergraduate students attending a large public university. Questionnaires measuring their ADHD symptoms, parent's parenting style, and academic adjustment were completed. RESULTS: Results indicated small but significant moderation effects for authoritarian parenting and authoritative parenting on the relationship between ADHD symptoms and academic adjustment. CONCLUSION: Although research has revealed that different parenting styles may relate to different outcomes in children with ADHD, for young adults, the effects of parenting on academic adjustment may be diluted. Future research should investigate variables that may be more salient predictors of functional outcomes for this population, such as organizational skills.

White public regard: associations among eating disorder symptomatology, guilt, and White guilt in young adult women.

OBJECTIVE: As a novel investigation of the role of White racial identity, the current study explored the link between White guilt and disordered eating. PARTICIPANTS: Young adult women (N=375), 200 of whom self-identified as White. METHODS: Measures assessed disordered eating, trait guilt, White guilt, and affect. RESULTS: White guilt is interrelated with disordered eating, particularly bulimic symptomatology. Distress tolerance and tendency to experience negative affect moderated the relation between White guilt and several disordered eating variables. CONCLUSIONS: Exploration of White guilt in clinical and research settings can inform understanding and treatment of disordered eating.