Perceived and actual weight stigma among romantic couples

Abstract

According to research on weight bias, relationship stigma may be greater among romantic couples comprised of at least one overweight partner, as compared to two healthy-weight partners. However, comparison theories predict that the stigma of being overweight may be greater among mixed-weight couples (i.e., romantic partners with dissimilar body mass indexes; BMI) than matched-weight couples (e.g., similarly overweight partners). To test these rival hypotheses, we assessed perceived and actual stigma experienced by mixed-weight and matched-weight couples. In two studies, people inferred (Study 1) or reported the actual amount (Study 2) of relational stigma and weight-related discomfort experienced by a healthy-weight/overweight person in a mixed/matched-weight relationship. Supporting the weight bias hypothesis, people inferred overweight people and their partners experience greater stigma and weight-related discomfort (Study 1). However, only overweight people in a matched-weight, as compared to mixed-weight, relationships actually reported greater relational stigma and weight-related discomfort (Study 2).

Development and validation of the Fat Attitudes Assessment Toolkit (FAAT): A multidimensional nonstigmatizing measure of contemporary attitudes toward fatness and fat people

“…Fat 1 people experience stigmatizing events and discrimination nearly every day (Seacat et al, 2014; Vartanian et al, 2014) in virtually every domain of daily living (for a review, see Puhl & Heuer, 2009), including work (Roehling et al, 2007), school (Burmeister et al, 2012), healthcare settings (Malterud & Ulriksen, 2011; Schwartz et al, 2003; Setchel et al, 2014; Tomiyama et al, 2015), fitness and leisure settings (Cardinal et al, 2014; Schvey et al, 2017), interpersonal relationships (Brewis et al, 2011; Collison & Rusbasan, 2016), and the military (Schvey et al, 2016). Both experienced and internalized forms of weight stigma have been linked to a range of physical, psychological, and behavioral outcomes.…”

Couples losing kinship: A systematic review of weight stigma in romantic relationships

“…Of these, five articles assessed weight stigma constructs in conjunction with weight status constructs (Carels, Miller et al., 2020; Carr et al., 2013; Evans & Stukas, 2007; Pole et al., 2004; Sheets & Ajmere, 2005). The remaining seven articles highlighted weight stigma as one of the explanations for the observed associations between weight status and relationship functioning even though weight stigma was not assessed directly (Akers & Harding, 2021; Benjamin & Kamin‐Shaaltiel, 2004; Boyes & Latner, 2009; Carr & Friedman, 2006; Collisson & Rusbasan, 2016; Farhat et al., 2015; Wickrama & Bryant, 2012). For example, in their study examining the association between BMI and relationship satisfaction over time, Akers and Harding (2021) stated that their study provides support for the persistent effects of weight stigma on early adult romantic relationship functioning.…”

“…Relationships in which one partner is heavier than the other appear at particular risk for lower relationship satisfaction and greater relational conflict, especially in heterosexual relationships in which the woman is heavier than the man (Markey et al., 2016; Meltzer et al., 2011). Although, some research tentatively finds that higher‐weight couples report experiencing more relational stigma than mixed‐weight couples (Collisson & Rusbasan, 2016), other research shows that mixed‐weight couples are perceived less favorably than matched‐weight couples, even if they are higher‐weight (Collisson et al., 2017). This suggests that mixed‐weight couples may be at particular risk for experiencing weight stigma both inside and outside of the relationship.…”

“…Studies were also conducted with participants living in Australia, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, and Switzerland. One study that utilized Mechanical Turk (MTurk) to recruit participants reported 50% of their sample identified as Asian (Collisson & Rusbasan, 2016). This suggests that the researchers did not pre-screen participants based on geographic location.…”

“…One study examined the association between BMI and relational stigma. Collisson and Rusbasan (2016) examined how the weight composition of couples is associated with relational stigma, defined as the degree to which one's relationship is perceived as being devalued by others. The researchers reported that higher-weight participants with higher-weight partners reported more relational stigma than mixed-weight couples; unexpectedly, however, lower-weight couples reported just as much relational stigma as higher-weight couples.…”