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Cognitive Therapy and Research

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27-06-2023 | Original Article

The Relationship Between Body Mass Index, Implicit Weight Bias, and Social Anxiety in Undergraduate Women

Auteurs: Simona C. Kaplan, Rachel M. Butler, Richard G. Heimberg

Gepubliceerd in: Cognitive Therapy and Research | Uitgave 5/2023

Abstract

Background

Peer victimization is linked to social anxiety (SA), and rates of bullying are significantly higher for individuals at higher weights. However, research has yet to examine whether implicit weight bias exacerbates this link.

Methods

This study examined the relationships between body mass index (BMI), SA, and implicit weight bias in undergraduate women (N = 186; 54.8% White; M_BMI = 25.97). Participants completed questionnaires pertaining to SA, stigmatizing attitudes toward weight, and two implicit association tests (IATs) used to measure anti-fat attitudes. IATs required categorization of words into attribute category pairs good vs. bad and motivated vs. lazy.

Results

BMI and SA were not significantly related. Implicit weight bias assessed by the good/bad IAT moderated the relationship between BMI and SA. Implicit weight bias assessed by the lazy/motivated IAT moderated the relationship between BMI and SA at the trend level (p = .06). Higher BMI was associated with higher SA in individuals with high, but not low, implicit weight bias. Implicit weight bias was associated with internalization of the thin ideal but not explicit weight bias.

Conclusions

Therapeutic interventions for SA among individuals with high BMI should explore internalized weight stigma, which may take the form of implicit attitudes or beliefs.

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volgende artikel Beyond Face Value: Assessing the Factor Structure of an Eye-Tracking Based Attention Bias Task

¹In the present study, we chose to examine these questions in women only due to a number of gender differences in the relevant areas of research. First, there are gender differences in implicit weight identity: both men and women explicitly reported accurate appraisals of their weight, whereas men (but not women) implicitly self-identified as “light” regardless of their actual weight (Grover et al., 2003). In addition, some forms of weight stigma are more prominent in women compared to men: wage and employment discrimination and weight stigma in dating and sexual relationships were found more frequently in women compared to men (Puhl & Heuer, 2009). Additionally, studies suggest that girls and women (as compared to boys and men) are at greater risk of not being liked, having fewer friends, and having more relationship difficulties due to being at higher weights (e.g., Boyes & Latner, 2009; Penny & Haddock, 2007; Sarlio-Lahteenkorva, 2001). Thus, we chose to limit our investigation to women, who seem to be at greatest risk for stigma, exclusion, body image issues, and resulting psychopathology.

A note about SA and the SA measures: The SIAS-S and SPS were used to examine prevalence rates of SAD. If an individual met the clinical cutoff on either the SIAS-S or SPS, then that individual was classified as having a probable diagnosis of SAD. The SA composite measure was utilized for all remaining analyses examining SA as a continuous construct.

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Titel: The Relationship Between Body Mass Index, Implicit Weight Bias, and Social Anxiety in Undergraduate Women
Auteurs: Simona C. Kaplan
Rachel M. Butler
Richard G. Heimberg
Publicatiedatum: 27-06-2023
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Cognitive Therapy and Research / Uitgave 5/2023
Print ISSN: 0147-5916
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-2819
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-023-10404-6

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