University of Northern Colorado Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC Dissertations Student Research 8-2020 Drunkorexia and Gender Role Conformity Sarah Zwetzig Follow this and additional works at: https://digscholarship.unco.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Zwetzig, Sarah, "Drunkorexia and Gender Role Conformity" (2020). Dissertations. 694. https://digscholarship.unco.edu/dissertations/694 This Text is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research at Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. © 2020 SARAH ZWETZIG ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO Greeley, Colorado The Graduate School DRUNKOREXIA AND GENDER ROLE CONFORMITY A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Sarah Zwetzig College of Education and Behavioral Sciences Department of Applied Psychology and Counselor Education August 2020 This Dissertation by: Sarah Zwetzig Entitled: Drunkorexia and Gender Role Conformity. has been approved as meeting the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in College of Education and Behavioral Sciences in Department of Applied Psychology and Counselor Education. Accepted by the Doctoral Committee: ___________________________________________________ Basilia Softas-Nall, Ph.D., Research Advisor ___________________________________________________ Stephen Wright, Ph.D., Committee Member ___________________________________________________ David Hulac, Ph.D., Committee Member ___________________________________________________ Thomas Dunn, Ph.D., Faculty Representative Date of Dissertation Defense _________________________________ Accepted by the Graduate School _________________________________________________________ Cindy Wesley Interim Associate Provost and Dean The Graduate School and International Admissions ABSTRACT Zwetzig, Sarah. Drunkorexia and Gender Role Conformity. Published Doctor of Philosophy dissertation, University of Northern Colorado, 2020. Drunkorexia, a behavior involving binge drinking and compensatory eating or dieting behaviors, has been found in approximately 15-39% of college-aged individuals (Burke, Cremeens, & Vail-Smith, 2010; Giles, Champion, Sutfin, McCoy, & Wagoner, 2009; Roosen & Mills, 2015). Its prevalence, along with increased risk of negative consequences, make drunkorexia a particularly risky behavior (Giles et al., 2009). The current study examined the relationship and predictive power of gender role conformity, both feminine (as measured by the Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory-45 [Parent & Moradi, 2010]) and masculine (as measured by the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory-46 [Parent & Moradi, 2009]), alcohol use (as measured by the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test [Saunders, Aasland, Babor, de la Fuente, & Grant, 1993]), and disordered eating (as measured by the Eating Attitudes Test-26 [Garner & Garfinkel, 1979]) on the level of drunkorexia (as measured by the Compensatory Eating and Behaviors in Response to Alcohol Consumption Scale [Rahal, Bryant, Darkes, Menzel, & Thompson, 2012]). This study also examined the differences in gender role conformity amongst those who engage in drunkorexia and those who do not. All significance was compared to a standard α=.05 level. Survey results from a total of 307 undergraduate students, 103 of which engaged in drunkorexia, showed no significant iii correlation between drunkorexia and masculine gender role conformity for males (r= - .047, p=.845)) or females (r=-.050, p=.657). Results also showed no significant correlation between drunkorexia and feminine gender role conformity for males (r= - .246, p=.296) or females (r= .180, p= .107). Feminine gender role conformity was significantly related to the Diet and Exercise subscale of the drunkorexia measure (r(80)=.289, p< .01), although the correlation was small. After controlling for gender, a hierarchical regression analysis showed that alcohol use, disordered eating, and both feminine and masculine gender role conformity (entered at Step 2 of the analysis) significantly predicted total level of drunkorexia (R2 = .295, p < .001). Alcohol use was the only significant variable in this model after a Bonferroni correction, accounting for the most unique variance in level of drunkorexia (ΔR2 = .227, p < .001). A post hoc hierarchical regression analysis showed that feminine gender role conformity, disordered eating, and alcohol use (entered at Step 1 in the analysis) significantly predicted scores on the Diet and Exercise subscale of the drunkorexia measure (R2 = .196, p < .001), with alcohol use again accounting for the most unique variance (ΔR2 = .066, p = .012). After the Bonferroni correction, disordered eating did not remain a significant variable in the post hoc analyses. Analyses of covariance showed there was not a statistically significant difference in either masculine (p = .065) or feminine (p = .086) gender role conformity between those who engage in drunkorexia and those who do not. Results indicate alcohol use is an important factor to consider when treating drunkorexia, and feminine gender role conformity may be an important factor for some females who engage in drunkorexia. This study highlighted the need for screening of disordered eating and alcohol use, particularly with emerging adults, and findings suggest there may be a connection iv between engaging in dieting and exercise and engagement in drunkorexia. Continued research on drunkorexia, particularly around measurement and theory of the behavior, are important future directions to consider. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing my dissertation has been a marathon to say the least, and I am appreciative for so many people who have helped me accomplish it. First and foremost I would like to thank my committee, who provided valuable feedback, challenged me, and ultimately made my dissertation better than I could have ever done on my own. Dr. Dunn for his expertise in disordered eating, Dr. Wright for his statistical knowledge, and Dr. Hulac for always helping me be a better critical thinker. In particular, I give my sincerest and deepest thanks to my chair, Dr. Softas. You have been an integral part of my journey through graduate school since my very first day, and you have brought immense value to both my professional and personal life. I consider you a mentor and a friend, and am so thankful for your support throughout this process. I could not have done all that I have without your support, guidance, and occasional tough love. Thank you for being such an important part of my experience. I would also like to thank my friends, both those in the program and those outside of it. Megan, you have been my greatest friend since we started graduate school together, and I am so thankful for your friendship and support throughout dissertation and all of life’s challenges. I would like to thank my family, who supported me with food, encouragement, and hugs throughout the way. Finally, I would like to thank my partner, James, for continually pushing me to get this thing done (even when I didn’t want to be pushed). vi You have been my light at the end of the tunnel, and have never once given up on me. For that I am eternally grateful. I am thankful to be done with my dissertation and done with my degree, and I will forever remember those who helped me along the way. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................12 Introduction Background Theoretical Framework Rationale and Need of Study Purpose of Study Research Questions Definition of Terms Limitations Summary II. LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................................34 Introduction Theory Disordered Eating Alcohol Use Drunkorexia Conformity Summary III. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................73 Research Design Instrumentation Procedure Hypotheses Summary IV. DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS ....................................................................92 Factor Analysis Reliability Analyses Descriptive Statistics and Frequencies Statistical Analyses and Results Summary viii V. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS ...............................................................117 Discussion of the Results Summary of the Results Implications and Future Directions Limitations Conclusion REFERENCES ................................................................................................................142 APPENDIX A: Recruitment Email ..........................................................................................167 B: Consent Form ..................................................................................................169 C: Demographic Questions ..................................................................................172 D: Compensatory Eating and Behaviors in Response to Alcohol Consumption Scale (CEBRACS) ............................................................................................174 E: Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) .................................................................178 F: Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) ......................................182 G: Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory-45 (CFNI-45)