Becker AO1/AO3

Contemporary study

What was the aim of Becker?

To evaluate the impact of the introduction of Western TV on disordered eating in Fiji.

What type of study did Becker use?

• Naturalistic (no manipulation)

• Cross-sectional design

• Multi-wave (took place over different stages)

Can you describe the sample of wave 1?

• 1995

• A few weeks after the introduction of TV

• 63 adolescent Fijian girls

Can you describe the sample of wave 2?

• 1998

• 3 years after the introduction of TV

• 65 adolescent Fijian girls

What similarities did the participants in wave 1 and 2 share?

• All 17 years old

• All had a BMI score of 25

How was the study made more ethical?

Written informed consent was gathered from the participants AND their parent/guardian.

How did Becker collect data?

A questionnaire (EAT-26) which included questions about binging and purging.

What does EAT-26 stand for?

Eating attitudes test

What EAT-26 score was considered high?

Score greater than 20

What other data did Becker collect?

• Weight and height

• Extra questions about household ownership of TV and frequency of TV viewing

What happened to participants who reported binging or purging behaviours?

• Semi-structured interview to confirm the behaviour (e.g determine whether vomiting was due to weight control)

How many participants reported binging or purging behaviours?

30

What extra questions did wave 2 answer?

• Body image, dieting, generational differences (between participant and their parents) towards diet and weight

What were the results of Becker?

• % of participants with an EAT-26 score greater than 20 was 12.7% in 1995 and increased to 29.2% in 1998

• % of participants who reported self-induced vomiting to control weight was 0% in 1995 and increased to 11.3% in 1998

• TV ownership/viewership increased from 41.3% in 1995 to 70.8% in 1998

• Those living in households with a TV were 3x more likely to have an EAT-26 score above 20

What conclusions can we draw from Becker?

TV exposure did have an impact on disordered eating in Fijian girls.

Evaluate the generalisability of Becker

Strengths

Weaknesses

• Small sample of Fijian girls (1995- 63, 1998- 65) so the results about TV and disordered eating may not be representative of how TV influences disordered eating in the wider population.

• Ethnocentric as the sample consisted of all Fijian participants, this means we do not know how TV affects disordered eating in people from other cultures.

• Gynocentric as the sample consisted of all adolescent girls, this means we do not know how TV affects disordered eating in males.

Evaluate the reliability of Becker

Strengths

• EAT-26 questionnaire was standardised as each participant was asked the same questions about binging and purging behaviours, so the study can be easily repeated which means it is highly reliable.

• Semi-structured interviews have some set questions but have some flexibility which allows the interviewer to follow up on anything interesting the participant discloses. Therefore the procedure can be easily repeated using the same questions which means the study about TV and disordered eating are highly reliable.

Weaknesses

Evaluate the applicability of Becker

Strengths

Weaknesses

• The study investigated disordered eating rather than eating disorders (which require a clinical diagnosis), which means the study about TV and disordered eating may be less useful in society.

Evaluate the validity of Becker

Strengths

• High ecological validity as it took place in a naturalistic, real-world environment in the Fijian girls normal loves, which means the results about TV and disordered eating can be applied to real world behaviour.

• EAT-26 gathers quantitative data which we can analyse using statistical tests and doesn’t require interpretation, which means we can see if the impact of TV on disordered eating is due to chance without subjectivity.

Weaknesses

• Social desirability may be an issue when answering the EAT-26 questionnaire as the participants may lie to look ‘good’ about their eating behaviours, so the impact of TV disordered eating may not be valid of their true experience.

• Extraneous variables (like increase in consumerism) which may have contributed to an increase in disordered eating were not investigated, this makes the study about TV and disordered eating less valid.

Evaluate the ethics of Becker

Strengths

• Informed consent was gathered from the participants and their parent/guardian, which means the study is more ethical as the participants understood the study and agreed to be part of it.

• Naturally occurring situation (no manipulation from the researcher) so no harm was caused.

Weaknesses