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Abstract
The present study tests the Adverse Social Experiences model to the development of eating disorders. The model proposes that experiences related to violations of body ownership, and experiences of exposure to prejudicial treatment, exert a direct influence on the development of disordered eating patterns. The model was tested using structural equation modeling with two different samples of young women, 436 university students and 341 community members. Measures of violations of body ownership included childhood sexual and physical abuse, and adult sexual and physical violations. Measures of exposure to prejudicial treatment included exposure to weightism and sexism. The model showed strong indices of fit in the two samples. Moreover, equal factor structure and equal factor loadings were found in the two samples, suggesting the stability of the model. The study has implications both to the further theoretical study of the etiology of eating disorders and to the prevention of eating disorders with schoolchildren.