Personality and the Social Experience of Body Weight.

Personality traits have been associated consistently with objective and subjective experiences of body weight. We examine whether this association extends to social attitudes and behaviors related to weight. Participants were mothers with children (N=3,099) who completed measures of personality and weight-related attitudes and social interactions. Higher Neuroticism and higher Extraversion were associated with more negative attitudes towards persons with obesity and engagement in fat talk with their friends and around their children. Higher Conscientiousness was associated with fewer negative attitudes and interactions but greater phobia towards obesity, whereas higher Openness and higher Agreeableness were generally associated with more positive attitudes and experiences. The associations for Conscientiousness, Openness, and Agreeableness held only for participants at relatively lower body mass index. Higher Neuroticism and lower Conscientiousness were further associated with the experience of weight discrimination. The present research indicates that in addition to measured weight and body image, personality traits are associated with the social experience of body weight.

Identity and weight-related beliefs among Black, Black/White biracial, East Asian, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, South Asian, and White U.S. Americans.

In the current study we move away from bias-focused, White-centric research to examine relationships between gender, race/ethnicity, and weight-related attitudes, identity, and beliefs among Black, Black/White Biracial, East Asian, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, South Asian, and White U.S. Americans who self-identify as higher weight. The results showed that: (1) women identify as fat more than men do, (2) fat identity, operationalized as feelings of similarity to fat people (self-stereotyping) and importance of weight to one's sense of self (identity centrality) are relatively similar across races and ethnicities, and (3) fat identity and weight-related beliefs are related to positivity toward fat people across the racial/ethnic groups sampled in this study.

A validation study of the Italian version of the Attitudes Toward Obese Persons (I-ATOP) questionnaire.

OBJECTIVES: Weight bias is defined as negative attitudes towards, and beliefs about, others because of their weight. Like other forms of stigma, weight stigma has a harmful impact on health, including depressive symptoms, disordered eating, body image disturbances and poor quality of life. Several instruments measuring weight-related attitudes have been developed, such as the Attitudes Toward Obese Persons (ATOP). The purpose of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the ATOP (I-ATOP). METHODS: The ATOP was adapted into Italian following the back-translation procedure. A total of 800 participants (Mage=31.40; 54.9% females) completed the I-ATOP alongside the Weight Bias Internalization Scale (WBIS). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted on half of the sample, while the remaining half was selected to cross-validate the resulting solution via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Factorial invariance tests across gender were computed using multi-group CFA. RESULTS: EFA suggested a one-factor structure with four items excluded due to their low standardised loadings. The trimmed model was cross-validated showing an acceptable fit to the data: MLRχ2 = 159.467 (df=81); RMSEA= 0.049; CFI= 0.939; TLI= 0.910; SRMR= 0.046. An omega coefficient of 0.818 confirmed the strong reliability of the I-ATOP. Convergent validity was demonstrated by a significant and moderate correlation with the WBIS. Configural, metric, and scalar invariance across gender were established. CONCLUSIONS: I-ATOP demonstrated to be a valid and reliable instrument useful for both clinical and research practices, as well as to support the development of educational and therapeutic actions able to reduce the stigma among the general public.

The Association between Weight-Related Attitudes and Suicidal Ideation in Adults / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between weight-related attitudes and suicidal ideation among adults. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a cross-sectional national health survey. We used a nationally representative sample of 12287 Koreans older than 19 years of age (5266 men and 7021 women). We used the logistic regression model to examine the relationship between weight-related attitudes and suicidal ideation, controlling for demographics, depressive mood, perceived stress, and substance use. RESULTS: A significantly higher number of women than men reported suicidal ideation (women : 18.3%, men : 10.3%). In men, weight control behavior aimed at weight loss (vs. no control) showed an association with suicidal ideation. For women, weight control behavior aimed at maintaining a certain weight (vs. no control) and obesity (vs. being underweight), as determined by Body Mass Index category, showed an association with suicidal ideation. For both sexes, distortions regarding perceived weight did not significantly affect suicidal ideationn. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that weight-related attitudes, such as weight control behaviors, are useful indicators for identification of individuals at risk of committing suicide.