Prevalence and early risk factors for bulimia nervosa symptoms in inner-city youth: gender and ethnicity perspectives

Table 1 Prevalence of disordered eating behaviors by ethnicity and gender (%)

During the past three months	African-American		Chi-square, Cramer’s V; p	White		Chi-square; Cramer’s V; p	Hispanic- American		Chi-square; Cramer’s V; p
During the past three months	Boys (n = 815)	Girls (n = 902)	Chi-square, Cramer’s V; p	Boys (n = 177)	Girls (n = 192)	Chi-square; Cramer’s V; p	Boys (n = 344)	Girls (n = 364)	Chi-square; Cramer’s V; p
Disordered eating symptoms/behaviors
I worried a lot about how to stop gaining weight	7.9	21.0	58.49; .185; < .001	15.3	32.3	14.61; .199; < .001	11.3	29.4	35.23; .223; < .001
I felt fat even when others told me I am too thin	3.9	14.9	58.56; .185; < .001	6.8	17.7	10.08; .165; < .001	2.9	23.9	65.93; .305; < .001
I ate large amounts of food even when I didn’t feel hungry	9.7	15.1	11.33; .081; < .001	11.3	11.5	.002; .002; .962	6.7	14.8	12.12; .131; < .001
I felt very upset about my overeating or weight gain	5.5	13.7	31.73; .138; < .001	9.0	21.4	10.69; .170; < .01	7.8	21.4	25.82; .191; < .001
Compensatory behaviors
I made myself vomit or used laxatives to prevent weight gain	6.1	6.9	.424; .016; .515	7.3	8.3	.124; .018; .724	8.7	9.6	.170; .015; .680
I fasted (skipped at least 2 meals in a row) or engaged in excessive exercise to prevent weight gain	27.2	28.0	.140; .009; .708	27.7	34.9	2.22; .078; .136	28.8	40.1	10.03; .119; .002

Comparisons are made by gender within each ethnicity. Prevalence is given for certainly true responses for the occurrence of disordered eating behaviors and at least once a week responses for the compensatory behaviors

ISSN: 2050-2974