Abstract
Objective: To examine the relation between level of religiosity, grade level, self-esteem, and level of disordered eating-related psychopathology among Modern Orthodox Jewish adolescent girls in Israel. Method: The sample consisted of 320 Jewish religious adolescent schoolgirls in the 9th to 12th grades of middle and high schools. The girls completed the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2) and the religious questionnaire based on Guttman's instrument. Results: The more religious the student, the less eating-related psychopathology was found. The youngest students (grade 9) were found to be the least religious and to have the highest eating-related psychopathology. Discussion: The results are discussed in terms of the possibility that level of religiosity might to some extent protect adolescent girls against developing body dissatisfaction and disordered eating pathology. A high level of religiosity is associated with less emphasis on the physical attractiveness of women and less pressure for their success and achievement outside the home.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 511-521 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health |
Volume | 19 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2007 |
Keywords
- Adolescent
- EDI-2
- Eating disorders
- Israel
- Religion
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health