Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the role of body dissatisfaction as a mediator and a moderator of the relationship between colonial mentality and depression in Filipino Americans. Archival data on the Filipino American sample from a larger, original study on a non-clinical population of Asian and Asian American/Pacific Islander men and women were utilized. The total sample of the present study included 257 mono-ethnic Filipino Americans (32% male, 68% female) who completed an online or paper-and-pencil format of the survey, which consisted of the Colonial Mentality Scale (CMS), Beliefs About Appearance Scale (BAAS), and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Short Depression Scale (CES-D 10). As hypothesized, results supported previous studies that showed colonial mentality, a culturally specific maladaptive schema, to be significantly associated with depression in Filipino Americans. Results also indicated that body dissatisfaction partially mediated but not moderated the relationship between colonial mentality and depression. Filipino Americans with higher colonial mentality reported higher levels of depression partially because they were dissatisfied with their body. Significant main effects for colonial mentality and body dissatisfaction on depression were found. However, the interaction effect between colonial mentality and body dissatisfaction on depression was found to be non-significant. Implications of these findings, limitations, and directions for future research were discussed.