AI Article Synopsis
- - The study explores how sociocultural factors, specifically thin-ideal internalization and appearance-related comparisons, contribute to weight stigma, which has negative health impacts including reduced body satisfaction.
- - By analyzing data from 137 MTurk workers in the U.S., the researchers found that exposure to thin-ideal information leads to internalization of these ideals, influencing how individuals compare their appearance to others, which in turn affects their attitudes toward weight stigma.
- - The findings suggest that both upward and downward appearance comparisons significantly mediate the relationship between thin-ideal internalization and weight stigma, offering a deeper understanding of the factors that perpetuate weight-related biases.
Article Abstract
Purpose: Weight stigma is pervasive and is associated with numerous physical and psychological health consequences, including decreased body satisfaction. Understanding of contributing factors to weight stigma remains limited, although researchers have consistently documented the connection between weight controllability beliefs and weight stigma. Sociocultural factors, including thin-ideal internalization and related social-cognitive correlates, are in the nascent stages of exploration to further our understanding of weight stigma.
Methods: In this study, we tested an emerging sociocultural model of weight stigma, examining the influence of thin-ideal internalization and appearance-related comparisons on weight stigma, statistically controlling for weight controllability beliefs and accounting for thin-ideal environmental influences. Participants were 137 MTurk workers living in the United States.
Results: We found that increased thin-ideal information was associated with thin-ideal internalization, which in turn was related to both upward and downward appearance-related comparison tendencies. These comparisons were then significantly related to weight stigma, controlling for weight controllability beliefs. There were significant indirect effects of both upward and downward appearance-related comparison tendencies on the relation between thin-ideal internalization and weight stigma.
Conclusion: These results extend limited prior research examining the association between the thin-ideal and appearance-related comparisons with weight stigma, and contribute to a more nuanced understanding of this complex phenomenon.
Level Of Evidence: Level V, cross-sectional study.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40519-020-00931-6 | DOI Listing |
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