An examination of Euro-American and African-American differences in social physique anxiety among college women.

Many studies have examined sex differences in social physique anxiety; however, few researchers have examined possible perceptual differences in such anxiety based on ethnicity. The present purpose was to examine social physique anxiety among college-age women of Euro-American and African-American descent. Participants (N = 91) from physical activity classes at a university located in the southeastern United States completed the Social Physique Anxiety Scale. The participants were 67 Euro-Americans and 24 African Americans. An independent t test yielded a significant difference (p =.01) between groups on Eklund's scale, which supports the hypothesis.