Instrumental and expressive traits and eating attitudes: a replication across American and British students

The present study examined the relationship between instrumental and expressive traits and attitudes linked to eating disorders across two Western societies. Two-hundred individuals in America and 111 individuals in Britain completed the Personal Attributes Questionnaire and the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI). Findings from the American sample supported the discrepancy hypothesis on the bulimia, drive for thinness and body dissatisfaction subscales of the EDI. Individuals low on instrumental traits reported more risky eating attitudes than those individuals high on instrumental traits. The British sample showed support for the discrepancy hypothesis as well for two of the three subscales, the drive for thinness and body dissatisfaction subscales of the EDI, respectively. Results are discussed in terms of the robustness of findings across cultures.