Intersections of Racial/Ethnic and Religious Identities on Bodily Well-Being for Black College-Attending Emerging Adults

AbstractBlack undergraduates face threats to healthy weight and body image (i.e., bodily well-being). Having a strong racial/ethnic identity can promote health during emerging adulthood. However, less is known about the intersections of racial/ethnic and religious identities on the bodily well-being of Black college-attending emerging adults, despite evidence to indicate that aspects of religiosity are also associated with health. We use quantitative data from 767 Black college-attending emerging adults in the Multi-University Study of Identity and Culture to examine the independent contributions of racial/ethnic and religious identity for bodily health, and test a potential interaction between racial/ethnic and religious identity on bodily health outcomes. Results from a multivariate linear regression model indicate that Black college-attending emerging adults with both high religious identity and high racial/ethnic identity exploration had higher body mass index and less positive body image. Findings suggest ways to strengthen the development of culturally appropriate public health prevention and intervention efforts that target body image and weight for Black college-attending emerging adults.Impact StatementBlack college-attending emerging adults face challenges to their health, particularly threats to healthy weight and body image during this period of psychosocial transitions. The developmental process of navigating racial/ethnic and religious identities during this tim...
Source: Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research