White public regard: associations among eating disorder symptomatology, guilt, and White guilt in young adult women.

OBJECTIVE As a novel investigation of the role of White racial identity, the current study explored the link between White guilt and disordered eating. PARTICIPANTS Young adult women (N=375), 200 of whom self-identified as White. METHODS Measures assessed disordered eating, trait guilt, White guilt, and affect. RESULTS White guilt is interrelated with disordered eating, particularly bulimic symptomatology. Distress tolerance and tendency to experience negative affect moderated the relation between White guilt and several disordered eating variables. CONCLUSIONS Exploration of White guilt in clinical and research settings can inform understanding and treatment of disordered eating.