Keywords

Mental Health Literacy; Hispanic populations; Binge Eating Disorder; Stigma; Acculturation

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the relationship between generation status and acculturation on mental health literacy and stigma, specifically with Binge Eating Disorder in Hispanic populations. The current literature focuses on mental health literacy levels in Hispanic populations in relation to depression and anxiety, but not binge eating disorder. Additionally, there is very little on how generation status and acculturation interact and can affect mental health literacy all together. To study their relationship, a survey and a short narrative piece about a character who is experiencing Binge Eating Disorder while in college were created alongside questions about the behaviors displayed in the survey. The narrative is the same, apart from who the character is, either a White friend named Alex, a Hispanic friend named Alejandra, or a second-person point of view of “you”. After reading the randomly assigned variation of the survey, the participants were then prompted to answer application-based questions from the narrative to see their ability to recognize the symptoms and the disorder. Once completed, they were then asked to fill out a mental health literacy scale, a stigma scale, an acculturation scale, and a final demographic section. The narratives and survey were created in both English and Spanish to encourage participation and ensure that the participants could properly connect with the survey. Results indicated that those in the Self Narrative were more likely to disagree with some of the statements that diminished and belittled the disorder behaviors in comparison to those in the White Friend Narrative. This could indicate a higher willingness to make these judgment calls about oneself, and a lower willingness to do so for others, especially a white friend who they may not have shared experiences with.

Thesis Completion Year

2026

Thesis Completion Semester

Spring

Thesis Chair

Sims, Valerie

College

College of Sciences

Department

Psychology

Thesis Discipline

Psychology

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus Access

None

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

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