Stigma towards Bulimia Nervosa in Australia and China

There is a lack of cross-cultural studies examining stigmatising attitudes towards eating disorders, particularly towards bulimia nervosa. The aim of the current study was to investigate stigma towards people with bulimia nervosa compared to depression and type 2 diabetes in Australia and China. Further, the level of contact and knowledge about the illness as well as other theoretical explanations as potential correlates of stigma were explored. Overall, 430 participants across Australia and China were randomly assigned to a vignette describing either a fictive character with bulimia nervosa, depression or type 2 diabetes; then their level of stigma was assessed. Results showed that Chinese in comparison to Australian participants had the lowest level of knowledge and highest level of stigma towards all conditions. Further, the characters depicting bulimia nervosa and type 2 diabetes received greater blame-related stigma, whereas, the character with depression was more distrusted and participants reported a greater desire for social distance. The current findings provide insight into the types and levels of stigma towards bulimia nervosa in Australia and China. Implications and future research questions are discussed.