Clarifying the Protective Role of Empowerment Against Weight/Shape Concerns Among Black and White Women Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence and are Residing in Shelter

Women who have experienced intimate partner violence (W-IPV) exhibit relatively high levels of disordered eating (DE). Empowerment has been demonstrated to be a protective factor against negative mental health outcomes for W-IPV, but has not been studied, with respect to DE, in this population. Race is an important construct to understanding both empowerment and DE – Black women reliably demonstrate higher levels of empowerment and lower levels of weight/shape concerns (a core symptom of and risk factor for DE) than White women. Additionally, social support has been identified as a factor promoting empowerment among W-IPV, whereas posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms have been associated with DE. This study tested the associations among race, social support, empowerment, PTSD symptoms, and weight/shape concerns among W-IPV ( N = 179; 55% Black and 45% White) residing in shelter. Empowerment was negatively correlated with weight/shape concerns for the full sample. Black W-IPV demonstrated higher levels of empowerment and lower levels of weight/shape concerns – there were no race differences on either social support or PTSD symptoms. Additionally, there was a significant indirect effect of race on weight/shape concerns via empowerment and PTSD symptoms, serially. Black W-IPV reported higher levels of empowerment than White W-IPV, which, in turn, was associated with lower levels of PTSD symptoms, which, finally, was associated with lower levels of weight/shape concerns. The current results suggest that empowerment may be protective against weight/shape concerns for W-IPV and may also help explain race differences in this construct. Providers who work with W-IPV should engage in practices that reinforce this culturally relevant protective factor for Black W-IPV. Additionally, future studies should attempt to replicate the current findings using a prospective longitudinal design and, if replicated, researchers should test the application of empowerment-based interventions to weight/shape concerns among W-IPV.