'My goal was to become normal'-A qualitative investigation of coping with stigma, body image and self-esteem long-term after bariatric surgery

Improved self-esteem and body image, as well as reduced experiences of weight stigma are important patient-reported obesity treatment outcomes. However, more knowledge is needed about how individuals who have undergone metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) perceive themselves and their bodies and use different coping strategies in relation to body image and self-esteem long-term after MBS. In this qualitative study body image, self-esteem, weight stigma and coping strategies were explored among 18 individuals who underwent MBS more than 10 years ago when interviewed. Using reflexive thematic analysis, two primary themes were identified: 'Experiences of living with a stigmatised body' and 'Coping with weight stigma, body image and self-esteem', and eight sub-themes. Findings capture frequent experiences of weight stigma before bariatric surgery, the need for coping with stigma and body dissatisfaction before and after MBS, and how different coping strategies are related to participants' perceptions of their bodies and self-concepts. More adaptive coping strategies, such as confrontation and cognitive restructuring may facilitate more positive body image outcomes, than more ruminative and avoidant strategies. Understanding adaptive coping strategies can be useful to develop interventions to reduce negative consequences of weight stigma on body image and self-esteem.

Stigmatized Work and Stigmatized Workers

Stigmas pervade organizational life. A stigma is a discrediting social evaluation that devalues an individual or group. We review research on stigmatized work and stigmatized workers, with a particular emphasis on how people become stigmatized and what they (and others) do about it. To do so, we connect stigma to other concepts in its nomological net and compare multiple models of stigma dynamics. We consider the intertwining nature of stigma and identity/image, how context affects stigma, and how stigma is managed by both the stigmatized and the nonstigmatized. We also offer critiques of key blind spots in workplace stigma research and point toward future research in this area that is more interconnected with other literatures and more inclusive of overlooked populations. Our vantage point is that workplace stigma continues to be an exciting domain of research with a high potential for theoretical discoveries and practical applications.

Does Concealing a Sexual Minority Identity Prevent Exposure to Prejudice?

Concealing a stigmatized identity is considered self-protective in that it presumably decreases exposure to bias during intergroup interactions relative to disclosing the identity. We conducted two studies exploring sexual minorities’ expectations about the self-protective properties of concealment and the reality concerning whether concealment prevents exposure to bias. In Study 1, half of sexual minorities who imagined interacting with a straight peer chose to conceal their identity, and this was predicted by the belief that concealment carries protective benefits. Study 2 randomly assigned sexual minorities to reveal or conceal their sexual orientations in actual interactions with straight peers. Neither sexual minority partners nor independent sexual minority coders perceived less bias among straight partners who interacted with sexual minorities concealing versus disclosing their identities. This was confirmed with Bayesian inferences demonstrating more evidence for the null model than the alternative. We discuss the potential benefits and costs of disclosure.

The psychological and physiological effects of interacting with an anti-fat peer

This experiment tested whether interacting with a peer who holds explicitly anti-fat attitudes leads to cognitive performance deficits and poorer psychological and cardiovascular outcomes among higher body weight women by increasing anticipated rejection. One hundred and forty six higher body weight women were randomly assigned to interact in a non-romantic context with a same-sex peer who endorsed explicit anti-fat or unbiased attitudes. All women showed greater heart rate reactivity and anger when interacting with an anti-fat peer. The heavier women were, and the more they thought they were overweight, the more they anticipated rejection when interacting with an anti-fat peer. This anticipated rejection was in turn associated with poorer cognitive performance, lower state self-esteem, and increased negative emotions, rumination, compensatory efforts, and thoughts related to anxiety and evaluation. These effects were not observed among women in our sample categorized as slightly "overweight" or who perceived themselves as only slightly overweight.

State Authenticity as Fit to Environment: The Implications of Social Identity for Fit, Authenticity, and Self-Segregation

People seek out situations that "fit," but the concept of fit is not well understood. We introduce State Authenticity as Fit to the Environment (SAFE), a conceptual framework for understanding how social identities motivate the situations that people approach or avoid. Drawing from but expanding the authenticity literature, we first outline three types of person-environment fit: self-concept fit, goal fit, and social fit. Each type of fit, we argue, facilitates cognitive fluency, motivational fluency, and social fluency that promote state authenticity and drive approach or avoidance behaviors. Using this model, we assert that contexts subtly signal social identities in ways that implicate each type of fit, eliciting state authenticity for advantaged groups but state inauthenticity for disadvantaged groups. Given that people strive to be authentic, these processes cascade down to self-segregation among social groups, reinforcing social inequalities. We conclude by mapping out directions for research on relevant mechanisms and boundary conditions.

Parasympathetic cardio-regulation during social interactions in individuals with obesity-The influence of negative body image

Individuals with obesity in Western societies often face weight-related stigmatization and social exclusion. Recurrent exposure to prejudice and negative social feedback alters one's behavior in future social interactions. In this study, we aimed to investigate autonomic nervous system and affective responses to social interactions in individuals with obesity. Women and men with (n = 56) and without (n = 56) obesity participated in episodes of social inclusion and social exclusion using a virtual ball-tossing game. During the experiment, heart rate was measured and parasympathetic activity (overall high-frequency power and event-related cardiac slowing) was analyzed. Our results show that in novel social interactions, women with obesity, relative to the other groups, exhibited the strongest increase in parasympathetic activity. Furthermore, parasympathetic activity was related to a more negative body image in individuals with obesity, but not in lean individuals. Additionally, women with obesity reported a stronger decrease in mood after social exclusion than did the other participants. Our results demonstrate influences of objective and subjective bodily characteristics on parasympathetic cardio-regulation during social interactions. In particular, they show behavioral and physiological alterations during social interactions in women with obesity.

Integrating Experimental and Social Constructivist Social Psychology: Some of Us Are Already Doing It

I concur with Jost and Kruglanski (this issue) that the rift between social constructivist and experimental social psychology is bigger than it need be. I do so by showing that many social-psychological theories predict why we have the rift that we do. I use this method to point out that self-reflexivity is possible and desirable. This is especially the case when we try to consider how our own political and historical context influences our work. I give examples from my teaching of social psychology, and of contemporary research that has been informed by both social constructivist criticisms and by knowledge of experimental methods.

A Reconceptualization of How We Study Issues of Racial Prejudice

This article shows that when confronted with a problem as complex as racial prejudice, researchers cannot afford to limit themselves to studying prejudice from the perspective of Whites. Many argue that in the research that does focus on Blacks and prejudice, Blacks are studied primarily in terms of their reactions to prejudice. This article challenges researchers to examine how Blacks' racial attitudes and behaviors influence intergroup dynamics between Whites and Blacks. Four areas of research in the prejudice and stereotyping literature that could be used to study Blacks' role in understanding racial prejudice are discussed. Moreover, the implications of studying Blacks in these 4 areas are explored.

A Meta-Analysis of Heavyweight and Self-Esteem

This study is a meta-analysis of the relation of heavyweight and self-esteem. We examined this relation in studies thatfocused on participants' actual body weight (assessed by physical measures or self-reports of weight and height) and studies thatfocused on self-perceived degree of heavyweight or body dissatisfaction. The overall mean effect size was moderate (r = -.18, d = -.36), with lower self-esteem associated with heavier weight. The correlation between self-esteem and weight was higher for studies of self-perceived weight than for studies of actual weight. Consistent with predictions about cultural and group differences, effect sizes were smaller for low socioeconomic status (SES) samples, ethnic minority samples, and nonclinical samples than for high SES, nonminority, and clinical samples, respectively. In addition, effect sizes were larger for women than for men and for high school and college students than for children. Discussion centered on cultural, group, and individual differences that may influence the consequences on self-esteem of violating standards for appropriate body weight.

Promoting the “Social” in the Examination of Social Stigmas

This review highlights the value of empirical investigations examining actual interactions that occur between stigmatizers and targets, and is intended to stimulate and help guide research of this type. We identify trends in the literature demonstrating that research studying ongoing interactions between stigmatizers and targets is relatively less common than in the past. Interactive studies are challenging, complex, and have variables that are sometimes more difficult to control; yet, they offer unique insights and significant contributions to understanding stigma-related phenomena that may not be offered in other (e.g., self-report) paradigms. This article presents a conceptual and empirical overview of stigma research, delineates the unique contributions that have been made by conducting interactive studies, and proposes what can be further learned by conducting more of such research.

The efficacy of sexual orientation anti-discrimination legislation

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the limited body of research that focuses on the efficacy of sexual orientation anti-discrimination legislation in reducing discrimination.

Design/methodology/approach

Reviews past research that documents overt and subtle forms of workplace discrimination against gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals and describes how legislation plays an important role in changing social norms and underlying attitudes.

Findings

Empirically demonstrates that legislation effectively can reduce discrimination.

Originality/value

Informs legislative debate and promotes the expansion and adoption of national, state, and local legislation on sexual orientation anti-discrimination legislation.

Differences in Self-Effacing Behavior between European and Japanese Americans

Self-presentational differences and subsequent misperceptions between Japanese Americans and European Americans were examined. In Experiment 1, Japanese Americans and European Americans were given positive feedback on their performance and were asked to either publicly or privately describe their performance. As predicted, Japanese Americans described their performance less favorably than European Americans in public but not in private. In Experiment 2, interviewees from the first study were evaluated on the basis of their self-reported performance descriptions. Observers consistently evaluated Japanese Americans less favorably than European Americans. The study illustrates the judgmental and interpersonal consequences of self-presentational differences between minority and majority individuals.

Interpersonal Concerns in Social Encounters between Majority and Minority Group Members

Dyadic interactions between Whites and Blacks were examined. Whites' concern about appearing prejudiced was manipulated by informing Whites that it was extremely important not to be prejudiced during the interaction. Blacks' concern about being the target of prejudice was manipulated by informing them that their dyadic partner was prejudiced against Blacks. The findings show that these two concerns differentially impacted individuals' own and their partner's experiences in the interaction. Specifically, Whites who tried not to be prejudiced experienced more anxiety and enjoyed the interaction less, but were liked more by their Black partner. Additionally, Blacks who believed their partner was prejudiced enjoyed the interaction more, and their White partner experienced less anxiety and enjoyed the interaction more. The implications of these findings for interpersonal intergroup encounters are discussed.

Elementary School Students' Perceptions of Overweight Peers

Obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States. Children who are overweight tend to participate in fewer activities, to withdraw from social situations, and to be less physically active than their normal-weight peers. Additionally, they have lower self-image and often suffer from depression. Research on children's perceptions of overweight peers has been sparse, with the few completed studies tending to focus on adolescents. In the current study, participants were asked to listen to four stories, two involving females and two involving males. Following each story, the children were presented with obese and nonobese target pictures and asked to match the two gender-specific pictures of children with the “nice” and “mean” characters from the story. Results show an overall main effect, indicating that the number of “nice” responses given to nonobese target figures was significantly greater than the number given to obese target figures. No gender effects were observed.

Reexamining the Effects of Solo Status for Women and Men

This article explores the outcomes of solo status and the processes by which solos are evaluated within a group decision-making context. Six-person groups of varying gender composition were given a task to solve individually and as a group. Following group discussion, participants evaluated themselves and their groupmates on task-oriented and social-oriented skills. Unlike previous research, solo women were evaluated positively by their groupmates, and they suffered no performance decrements resulting from solo status. Furthermore, the evaluations solo women received accurately reflected their contributions to the group, although men's favorable evaluations in their groups were not similarly explained. Results are discussed in terms of a model in which social reality mediates the relationship between women's solo status and outcome, whereas perceiver stereotyping may contribute to favorable evaluations of men.

The Relationship between Appearance and Personality Across the Life Span

Using archival data, the relationship of appearance to personality was investigated from childhood to age 60. Lagged effects of appearance on personality and vice versa, as well as accuracy of appearance stereotypes, were assessed. For men, lagged effects of attractiveness on personality were consistent with a self fulfilling prophecy; for adolescent boys, lagged effects of babyfaceness on personality were consistent with a self-defeating prophecy; for women, lagged effects of personality on attractiveness were consistent with a Dorian Gray effect, whereby early personality produces a congruent later appearance. There was no evidence for accuracy of the baby-face stereotype, which was significantly inaccurate for adolescent boys. Accuracy of the attractiveness stereotype required effects of a stable earlier appearance on later personality or a stable earlier personality on later appearance.

Physical Appearance and Control Beliefs in Young, Middle-Aged, and Older Adults

The authors investigated whether general and domain-specific control beliefs were related to stigmatizing physical appearance qualities in young, middle-aged, and older adults. Being babyfaced, unattractive, or short was associated with diminished control beliefs in young and middle adulthood, whereas being overweight was not. Those who were less attractive, more babyfaced, shorter, or heavier sometimes perceived more rather than less control than their more favored peers, suggesting that individuals whose appearance creates social barriers may compensate with greater efforts to control their social environment. One notable age difference was that high babyfaceness was associated with diminished control beliefs at younger ages but with higher control beliefs in older adulthood.

The Weight of Obesity in Evaluating Others: A Mere Proximity Effect

Previous research demonstrates that we tend to derogate individuals who are perceived to be in a social relationship with stigmatized persons. Two experiments examined whether this phenomenon also occurs for individuals seen in the presence of an obese person and whether a social relationship is necessary for stigmatization to spread. The results from both experiments revealed that a male job applicant was rated more negatively when seen with an overweight compared to a normal weight female and that just being in the mere proximity of an overweight woman was enough to trigger stigmatization toward the male applicant. Experiment 2 examined possible moderating effects of the proximity finding. Applicants seated next to heavy (vs. average weight) individuals were denigrated consistently regardless of the perceived depth of the relationship, the participant’s anti-fat attitudes or gender, and whether or not positive information was presented concerning the woman. The profound nature of the obesity stigma and implications for impression formation processes are discussed.

‘Concealing the Evidence’: The Importance of Appearance Concerns for Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Outwardly visible signs associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can include facial rashes, alopecia and weight gain. We sought to understand the concerns of SLE patients about their appearance and the recognition of this by healthcare professionals. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 10 women aged 26-68 years diagnosed with SLE for one to 12 years. Data were analysed with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA); this seeks to describe and provide understanding of people’s experience of a phenomenon by studying in-depth a small number from a relatively homogeneous group (women with SLE in the present study). Analysis revealed three themes concerning appearance issues. Participants described public self-consciousness after the onset of SLE. Cosmetics and clothing were used skilfully to appear ‘normal’, hide the ‘self’ and assert control but could increase feelings of difference and isolation. Self-imposed isolation was also described and may relate to depression. The understanding of family, friends, colleagues and healthcare providers was also important. Awareness of the psychosocial concerns of SLE patients with life-changing skin disease may enable multidisciplinary healthcare teams to offer a more sensitive, practical service. The physical and emotional needs of SLE patients need to be ascertained and appropriate educational and psychological services are required.

Reacting to Impending Discrimination: Compensation for Prejudice and Attributions to Discrimination

This experiment tested the hypothesis that stigmatized people attempt to compensate for or overcome the effects of prejudice on social interactions. In an adaptation of Ruggiero and Taylor’s minimization of discrimination design, the authors informed 134 women either prior to or after completing a task that there was some chance that a prejudiced man would evaluate them. The women who were forewarned about prejudice compensated for this threat by distancing themselves from traditional feminine stereotypes relative to the women who learned about prejudice only after the experimental task was completed. However, the overall impression created by the women who were forewarned about prejudice suffered in this process. In addition, the authors did not replicate the minimization of discrimination finding. Regardless of when the women learned about prejudice, those who faced certain and possible prejudice were equally likely to attribute failing feedback to discrimination.

Expecting To Be the Target of Prejudice: Implications for Interethnic Interactions

Two studies investigated the implications of ethnic minorities’ prejudice expectations for their affective and behavioral outcomes during interethnic interactions. In both studies, the more ethnic minorities expected Whites to be prejudiced, the more negative experiences they had during interethnic interactions. This finding held true for chronic prejudice expectations in a diary study of college roommates (Study 1) and for situationally induced prejudice expectations in a laboratory interaction (Study 2). In Study 2, the authors extended this work to examine the relationship between ethnic minorities’ prejudice expectancies and their White partners’ psychological experience during interethnic interactions. Consistent with predictions, the more ethnic minorities expected Whites to be prejudiced, the more their White partners had positive experiences during interethnic interactions. These divergent experiences of ethnic minorities and Whites have important implications for the psychological success of interactions between members of these groups.

Negotiating Interracial Interactions

The United States is becoming increasingly diverse, yet interracial contact continues to be awkward, if not stressful, for many. Indeed, recent research suggests that individuals often exit interracial interactions feeling drained both cognitively and emotionally. This article reviews research examining how interracial encounters give rise to these outcomes, zeroing in on the mediating role of self-regulation and the moderating influence of prejudice concerns. Given that interracial contact may be the most promising avenue to prejudice reduction, it is important to examine factors that undermine positive interracial contact experiences, as well as those that facilitate them.

Physical Attractiveness, Body Image, and Women's Sexual Self-Schema

Recently, Andersen and Cyranowski (1994) presented a self-report measure of women's sexual self-schema, or cognitive view of the self regarding sexuality. In the current study, we investigated potential relationships between women's sexual self-schema and physical attractiveness, body size and shape, and body image. Young adult women ( N = 199) completed questionnaires and were weighed, measured, and rated for facial attractiveness. Results revealed that sexual self-schema was unrelated to body size or shape, general body dissatisfaction, history of teasing about weight, and degree of investment in personal appearance. Sexual self-schema scores significantly correlated with experimenter-rated facial attractiveness, self-rated facial and bodily attractiveness, and degree of social avoidance due to concerns over personal appearance, however. In a multiple regression analysis, only self-rated facial attractiveness and social avoidance were unique predictors. Results are discussed with regard to implications for the development of women's sexual self-schema and directions for future research.

A transactional approach to relationships over time between perceived HIV stigma and the psychological and physical well-being of people with HIV

RATIONALE

Cross-sectional studies demonstrate that perceived discrimination is related to the psychological and physical well-being of stigmatized people. The theoretical and empirical foci of most of this research in on how racial discrimination undermines well-being. The present study takes a transactional approach to examine people with HIV, a potentially concealable stigma.

HYPOTHESIS

The transactional approach posits that even as discrimination adversely affects the psychological well-being of people with HIV, psychological distress also makes them more sensitive to perceiving that they may be or have been stigmatized, and may increase the chances that other people actually do stigmatize them.

METHODS

This hypothesis was tested in a longitudinal study in which 216 New England residents with HIV were recruited to complete measures of perceived HIV stigma and well-being across three time points, approximately 90 days apart. This study also expanded on past research by assessing anticipated and internalized stigma as well as perceived discrimination.

RESULTS

Results indicated that all of these aspects of HIV stigma prospectively predicted psychological distress, thriving, and physical well-being. Equally important, psychological distress and thriving also prospectively predicted all three aspects of HIV stigma, but physical well-being did not.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that people with HIV are ensnared in a cycle in which experiences of stigma and reduced psychological well-being mutually reinforce each other.

Beyond Adaptation: Decolonizing Approaches to Coping With Oppression

How should one respond to racial oppression? Conventional prescriptions of mainstream social psychological science emphasize the idea ofcopingwith oppression—whether via emotional management strategies that emphasize denial or disengagement; problem-focused strategies that emphasize compensation, self-efficacy, or skills training; or collective strategies that emphasize emotional support—in ways that promote adaptation to, rather than transformation of, oppressive social structures. Following a brief review of the literature on coping with racism and oppression, we present an alternative model rooted in perspectives of liberation psychology (Martín-Baró, 1994). This decolonial approach emphasizes critical consciousness (rather than cultivated ignorance) of racial oppression, a focus on de-ideologization (rather than legitimation) of status quo realities, and illumination of models of identification conducive to collective action. Whereas the standard approach to coping with oppression may ultimately both reinforce and reproduce systems of domination, we propose a decolonial approach to racism perception as a more effective strategy for enduring prosperity and well-being.

Visual portrayals of obesity in health media: promoting exercise without perpetuating weight bias

Health education campaigns for preventing and reducing obesity often contain weight-stigmatizing visual content, which may have unintended negative health consequences. The goal of the present research was to identify non-stigmatizing visual content for health education materials that can promote exercise among people of diverse weight statuses. An online sample of 483 US women viewed: (i) a woman with obesity portrayed stereotypically; (ii) a woman with obesity exercising; (iii) a woman with obesity portrayed neutrally; or (iv) a lean woman exercising. Race of the models pictured was randomized (White or Black). Participants completed measures of weight bias and exercise behavior and attitudes, and provided information about their weight status. Analysis of covariance revealed that responses to stereotypical and exercise images varied by participant weight status. Across participants, neutral obesity portrayals elicited lower expressions of weight-biased attitudes and higher reports of exercise liking/comfort. Among non-overweight participants, images portraying women with obesity stereotypically or counter-stereotypically produced greater endorsement of negative stereotypes than control, lean images. No effects of model race were found. These findings suggest that the public responds differently to visual portrayals of obesity depending on weight status, and neutral portrayals may be an effective route toward promoting exercise without perpetuating stigma.

Weighed down by stigma: How weight-based social identity threat contributes to weight gain and poor health

Weight stigma is pervasive, and a number of scholars argue that this profound stigma contributes to the negative effects of weight on psychological and physical health. Some lay individuals and health professionals assume that stigmatizing weight can actually motivate healthier behaviors and promote weight loss. However, as we review, weight stigma is consistently associated with poorer mental and physical health outcomes. In this article we propose a social identity threat model elucidating how weight stigma contributes to weight gain and poorer mental and physical health among overweight individuals. We propose that weight-based social identity threat increases physiological stress, undermines self-regulation, compromises psychological health, and increases the motivation to avoid stigmatizing domains (e.g., the gym) and escape the stigma by engaging in unhealthy weight loss behaviors. Given the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the US, weight stigma thus has the potential to undermine the health and wellbeing of millions of Americans.

Weight stigma "gets under the skin"-evidence for an adapted psychological mediation framework: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

Research consistently shows a negative view of individuals with obesity in the general public and in various other settings. Stigma and discrimination can be considered chronic stressors, as these factors have a profound impact on the psychological well-being of the affected individuals. This article proposes a framework that entails a mediation of the adverse effects of discrimination and stigmatization on mental well-being through elevated psychological risk factors that are not unique to weight but that could affect overweight and normal-weight individuals alike.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted to assess the prevalence of psychological risk factors, such as self-esteem and coping, in individuals with obesity.

RESULTS

Forty-six articles were assessed and included for detailed analysis. The number of studies on these topics is limited to certain dimensions of psychological processes. The best evaluated association of obesity and psychosocial aspects is seen for self-esteem. Most studies establish a negative association of weight and self-esteem in children and adults. All studies with mediation analysis find a positive mediation through psychological risk factors on mental health outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

This review shows that elevated psychological risk factors are existent in individuals with obesity and that they may be a mediator between weight discrimination and pathopsychological outcomes.

Would an obese person whistle vivaldi? Targets of prejudice self-present to minimize appearance of specific threats

How do targets of stigma manage social interactions? We built from a threat-specific model of prejudice to predict that targets select impression-management strategies that address the particular threats other people see them to pose. We recruited participants from two groups perceived to pose different threats: overweight people, who are heuristically associated with disease and targeted with disgust, and Black men, who are perceived to be dangerous and targeted with fear. When stereotypes and prejudices toward their groups were made salient, overweight people (Studies 1 and 2) and Black men (Study 2) selectively prioritized self-presentation strategies to minimize apparent disease threat (wearing clean clothes) or physical-violence threat (smiling), respectively. The specific threat a group is seen to pose plays an important but underexamined role in the psychology of being a target of prejudice.

Disgust sensitivity, obesity stigma, and gender: contamination psychology predicts weight bias for women, not men

Recent research has established a link between disgust sensitivity and stigmatizing reactions to various groups, including obese individuals. However, previous research has overlooked disgust's multiple evolved functions. Here, we investigated whether the link between disgust sensitivity and obesity stigma is specific to pathogen disgust, or whether sexual disgust and moral disgust--two separate functional domains--also relate to negative attitudes toward obese individuals. Additionally, we investigated whether sex differences exist in the manner disgust sensitivity predicts obesity stigma, whether the sexes differ across the subtypes of obesity bias independent of disgust sensitivity, and last, the association between participants' BMI and different subtypes of obesity stigma. In study 1 (N = 92), we established that obesity elicits pathogen, sexual, and moral disgust. In study 2, we investigated the relationship between these types of disgust sensitivity and obesity stigma. Participants (N = 387) reported their level of disgust toward various pathogen, sexual, and moral acts and their attitudes toward obese individuals. For women, but not men, increased pathogen disgust sensitivity predicted more negative attitudes toward obese individuals. Men reported more negative general attitudes toward obese individuals whereas women reported greater fear of becoming obese. The sexes also differed in how their own BMI related to the subtypes of obesity stigma. These findings indicate that pathogen disgust sensitivity plays a role in obesity stigma, specifically for women. Defining the scope of disgust's activation in response to obesity and its relationship with other variables can help identify possible mechanisms for understanding and ultimately alleviating prejudice and discrimination.

Benevolent sexist beliefs predict perceptions of speakers and recipients of a term of endearment

This study examined how endorsement of benevolent sexist ideologies predicts perceptions of requesters who use a term of endearment and of the female addressees who comply with their requests. Undergraduate women who previously completed the Benevolent Sexism Scale as part of the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory were randomly assigned to one of four groups. They watched one of four videos in which a female addressee responded to a request that either included or did not include the term of endearment "hon"; the requester was either male or female. Participants then rated both actors' social likeability. Among participants who watched a woman respond to a female requester who addressed her with the term "hon," benevolent sexism scores predicted liking for the female responder and disliking of the female requester. Findings reflect the dissatisfaction of women who are high in benevolent sexism with women who act outside of traditional gender role expectations.

The Impact of Weight-Based Discrimination in the Health Care Setting

Considerable attention has been given to the behaviors that need to be changed in individuals who are overweight and obese. Much less attention has been given to the behaviors that need to be changed in health care professionals who treat these individuals. Specifically, health care professionals, similar to the general population, have been shown to engage in weight-based discrimination. The impact this may have on patients is discussed.

The Psychological Weight of Weight Stigma

The authors theorized that overweight individuals experience social identity threat in situations that activate concerns about weight stigma, causing them to experience increased stress and reduced self-control. To test these predictions, women who varied in body mass index (BMI) gave a speech on why they would make a good dating partner. Half thought they were videotaped (weight visible); the remainder thought they were audiotaped (weight not visible). As predicted, higher BMI was associated with increased blood pressure and poorer performance on a measure of executive control when weight was visible and concerns about stigma were activated but not when weight was not visible. Compared to average weight women, overweight women also reported more stress-related emotions when videotaped versus audiotaped. Findings suggest that weight stigma can be detrimental to mental and physical health and deplete self-regulatory resources necessary for weight control.

A Preliminary Examination of Sexual Orientation as a Social Vulnerability for Experiencing HIV/AIDS-related Stigma

This investigation is a preliminary examination of sexual orientation as a social vulnerability for experiencing HIV/AIDS-related stigma, specifically concerns about disclosure and public attitudes. Participants were 36 heterosexual men and 82 gay men with HIV/AIDS. Consistent with prediction, a heterosexual sexual orientation was significantly associated with HIV/AIDS disclosure concerns. This effect was evident after controlling for various demographic variables, CD4 T-cell count, time since HIV diagnosis, self-esteem, and coping styles. Also, as predicted, similar levels of enacted stigma were evident regardless of sexual orientation. Further work is needed to understand the process of HIV/AIDS disclosure for heterosexual men with this illness and to differentiate the experience of HIV/AIDS-related stigma among gay and straight men with HIV/AIDS.