Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, Vol 56(4), Aug 2025, 257-265; doi:10.1037/pro0000629
A growing body of research suggests conformity to feminine norms affects the health of university-attending women. The present study examined the association between conformity to three feminine norms—thinness, appearance, and modesty—and disordered eating, and the mediating role of emotional eating. A sample of undergraduate, predominantly White women between the ages of 18–24 years (N = 201, Mage = 19.2 years, SD = 1.3) completed an online survey assessing the constructs of interest. Regression analyses showed that conformity to thinness, appearance, and modesty were each positively associated with disordered eating symptomatology. Furthermore, emotional eating mediated the associations between the norms of thinness and appearance and disordered eating but not the norm of modesty and disordered eating. These findings suggest that feminine norms may contribute to disordered eating in undergraduate women through emotional eating. Clinical considerations for addressing conformity to feminine norms and managing emotional eating are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)