Fear and self-loathing: Internalised weight stigma and maladaptive coping in higher-weight individuals

This thesis extends current research linking internalised weight stigma and health and wellbeing in higher-weight individuals. Chapter 1 reviews the association between weight stigma and maladaptive eating. Chapter 1 also introduces a social identity framework for predicting whether societal weight stigma is internalised or resisted. Chapter 2 presents findings of an experimental manipulation whereby participants tended to eat less when exposed to a weight-stigma prime versus a neutral prime, with the effect being amplified at higher levels of internalised weight stigma. In Chapter 3, bifactor analysis of the related constructs of internalised weight stigma, body image, and global self-esteem indicated that while internalised weight stigma did mediate the relationship between experienced stigma and disordered eating, shared variance explained a considerable proportion of this indirect relationship. Chapter 4 presents two studies in which both weight-related self-stigma and fear of stigma had downstream effects on addictive-like eating behaviour; fear of stigma predicted worsening eating pathology over time. Chapter 5 provides evidence that weight stigma resistance is associated with improved psychological wellbeing, and identified factors important in predicting weight stigma response. Chapter 6 provides a reflection on the experimental work in this thesis, and discusses implications for future research and health interventions