Factors influencing children's judgments of overweight peers

Abstract

Children tended to report that an overweight child would be a target of name-calling and be less accepted. Our findings provided partial support for the idea that children's own victimization status influenced ratings of social attraction, niceness, and negative emotions. Longitudinal studies will provide information on change in perceptions over time.

Perceptions of a Child Who was Overweight or of Average Weight by African American Children

“…Questions had been used in other similar studies to examine stereotyping of children with physical differences (e.g., Bell and Morgan 2000;Latner and Stunkard 2003;Nabors et al 2004). As mentioned, this sample was selected from the original study, and as such variables representing child body mass index, ratings of victimization of the child, and perceptions of child responsibility for weight status were not utilized in this study (Nabors et al 2011). Version 22 of the SPSS Statistical Program was used to analyze data.…”

“…They were attending Midwestern elementary schools. The data were part of a larger study analyzing children's perceptions of children who were overweight (Nabors et al 2011). The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Institutional Review Board approved this study and served as the IRB of record; the University of Cincinnati Institutional Review Board also approved this project.…”

Factors Influencing Children’s Attitudes Toward a Peer Who Is Overweight

“…Children who share the experience of having previously been a victim of stereotyping or stigma themselves may be more likely to have increased empathy for and thus have more positive attitudes toward a child who is overweight (Nabors et al, 2011;Teachman et al, 2003).…”

“…Among these victims, adolescents, boys, and those with higher BMI are more likely to be the targets of bullying (Janssen et al;Nansel et al, 2001;Wang et al, 2010). In one study, 161 fourth and fifth grade students completed a standardized measure assessing their previous victimization experiences (Nabors et al, 2011). Participants also selected the victim in a story by choosing a line drawing of either an average weight or overweight same-sex peer.…”

“…Thus, while only one study suggests that a participant's BMI may impact one's judgments of controllability, other studies indicate no direct relationship between these two variables. Nabors et al (2011) reported that 8 -12 year old children who were both overweight and victimized were more likely to endorse more positive attitudes of an overweight child. Thus, while literature largely contends that an individual's BMI does not impact their attributions of weight responsibility or their ratings of overweight peers (e.g., Schwartz et al, 2006); results from Nabors et al suggested that an individual's BMI may impact attitudes through its influence on prior victimization experience.…”