Abstract
Latinas face diverse challenges with their body image stemming from thin ideal media messages, cultural values that differ from European American media, differing opinions from family and friends, and discrimination based on appearance. This study adds to the understanding of Mexican American women's body image by drawing from two theories-the sociocultural theory and expressed emotion theory- to examine predictors of Mexican American's body image. Specifically, it studies whether the sociocultural theory's construct of the thin ideal and the expressed emotion theory's constructs of perceived criticism and warmth are related to a negative body image for Mexican American women, and if so, which is the best predictor. Additionally, familismo and acculturation are explored to see if they strengthen or weaken the aforementioned relationships. Mexican American women ( n = 145) completed self-reports of the constructs. Internalization of the thin ideal and perceived criticism were positively associated with a negative body image, whereas perceived warmth was negatively associated with a negative body image. Additionally, while each predictor was uniquely associated with body image, the internalization of the thin ideal captured greater variance in participants' negative body image. Lastly, familismo weakened the positive relationship between the thin ideal and a negative body image and was thus was a protective factor against the negative effects of the internalization of the thin ideal. Acculturation did not significantly moderate any associations. The findings underscore the importance of examining multiple theories and suggest clinical interventions that are grounded in cultural frameworks.