Racial Identity Moderates Cultural Congruence and Healthy Eating Intentions in Black Emerging Adults

Racial disparities in obesity incidence exist among emerging adults—with Black Americans at the highest risk. Emerging adulthood is characterized by behavioral exploration and identity formation, yet few studies have examined how relevant identities (i.e., racial identity) may inform dietary behaviors of Black emerging adults. According to identity-based motivation, people are motivated to act in identity-congruent ways, which are informed by one’s culture (i.e., cultural congruence). This study examined the relationship between perceptions of healthy eating as (in)congruent with Black culture and healthy eating intentions, and the moderating role of racial identity (centrality and nationalist ideology) among 118 Black college students (68.6% female, age M = 19.52, SD = 2.02) in the Southeast US. While no evidence supports the direct effects of cultural (in)congruence on healthy eating intentions, it did interact with nationalist ideology. Contrary to our hypothesis, those with stronger nationalist ideology reported greater healthy eating intentions when healthy eating was perceived as incongruent with Black culture ( β = 7.71, p = .01). Implications for scholarship and clinical practice are discussed.