Weight of Expectations: Weight Based Stereotype Threat and Health Behaviors

Steele (1995) defines stereotype threat as the risk of conforming to the negative attribute associated with a group. Since its discovery, stereotype threat has been documented across a variety of stigmatized groups (for a review see, Pennington et al., 2016). Despite the breath of literature on stereotype threat, few studies have examined its relation to weight stigma. As a group, people with obesity have long been stigmatized as lazy, unintelligent, and lacking in willpower (Puhl & Heuer, 2009). These stereotypes translate to societal weight bias and weight-based discrimination (Pearl & Puhl, 2014). Stereotypes awareness may also play a pivotal role in individuals internalizing negative beliefs about their weight. Internalized weight stigma likely develops from a process of being aware of weight-based stereotypes, engaging in physical comparison, and adopting the stereotypes into one’s self-concept. Nevertheless, this model has not been examined. 

This poster presentation will test this model predicting internalized weight stigma, examining the unique contribution weight-based stereotype awareness and physical comparison have in predicting internalized weight stigma in a sample of undergraduate women. This cross-sectional study uses Qualtrics to measure internalized stigma (Modified Weight Bias Internalization Scale; Pearl & Puhl, 2014), weight-based stereotype awareness (Stigma Consciousness Questionnaire-modified; Pinel, 1999), and physical comparison (Physical Appearance Comparison Scale-Revised; Schaefer, 2014). Using a hierarchal regression analysis in SPSS, results will clarify the unique roles stereotype awareness and physical comparison play in the process of self-stigmatization and have implications for the development of interventions that disrupt the internalization process in college students.