The Cost of Comparison: Weight Stigma and Disordered Eating

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 (Pennington et al., 2016), but few studies have examined its relation to weight stigma. Individuals with higher body weight are frequently stereotyped as lazy, unintelligent, and lacking self-control, which contributes to pervasive societal bias (Pearl & Puhl, 2014). Physical comparison may also play a pivotal role in internalizing negative beliefs about weight. Internalized weight stigma may develop from a process of being aware of weight-based stereotypes, leading to physical comparison, and resulting in adopting those stereotypes into one’s self-concept.  

This poster presentation will be the first to test this model linking stigma awareness, physical appearance comparison, and internalized weight stigma to disordered eating behaviors in a sample of 270 undergraduate women aged 18-34. This study uses Qualtrics to measure weight-based stereotype awareness (Stigma Consciousness Questionnaire-modified; Pinel, 1999), physical comparison tendencies (Physical Appearance Comparison Scale-Revised; Schaefer, 2014), internalized weight stigma (Modified Weight Bias Internalization Scale; Pearl & Puhl, 2014), and disordered eating behaviors (Loss of Control over Eating Scale; Latner et al., 2014). Using structural equation modeling, we will examine both direct and indirect pathways between stigma awareness, comparison processes, and disordered eating, as well as the mediating role of internalized stigma. Findings have implications for intervention programs aimed at disrupting internalization and highlight the sociocultural factors related to weight that contribute to disorder eating