Separating binge‐eating disorder stigma and weight stigma: A vignette study

Abstract

Objective Vignette research on binge‐eating disorder (BED) stigma is limited and lacking methodological rigor. Existing studies lack control vignettes and typically present characters with overweight or obesity, introducing the confound of weight stigma. This study examined BED stigma while addressing these limitations. Method Participants (N = 421) were assigned to read one of six vignettes describing a woman with either BED or no BED as well as either no mention of weight, a recommended weight, or an obese weight. Four questionnaires examined personality stereotypes, emotional reactions to the character, desire for social distance from the character, and blame attributions. Results The character with BED was ascribed more negative personality characteristics and faced less positive emotional reactions than the character without BED, regardless of weight status. However, BED stigma did not emerge for social distance or blame attributions. Regarding weight stigma, evidence was limited and moderated by the presence of BED, suggesting no additive effect between BED stigma and weight stigma. In fact, blame attributions toward the character with obesity were reduced by the presence of BED. Discussion The results reveal that BED is a highly stigmatized eating disorder and suggest that weight stigma may be driven by assumptions about a person's eating behavior rather than their body size per se. Future studies must consider the relationship between BED stigma and weight stigma when assessing either form of stigma. The results also indicate new information to be integrated into anti‐weight stigma campaigns as well as policy and public health initiatives.

Stigmatization toward People with Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder: A Scoping Review

“…However, targets with BED have been described with less desirable personality traits (e.g., weak, lazy, and careless) than targets without BED [ 51 ]. The general population associated people with BED with a larger body [ 51 ], and rated people with AN as dangerous, incompetent, able to pull themselves together if they chose to, hard to talk to [ 25 , 29 , 52 , 58 ], and considerably attention-seeking [ 28 , 29 , 52 , 59 ]. The perception of people with EDs as self-destructive was also commonly held, especially for those with BN [ 58 , 66 ].…”

“…Gender attribution: AN was perceived to primarily affect women [ 3 , 63 ], as was BN [ 66 ], but for non-significant results see [ 34 , 51 ]. For BED, the reverse trend was observed, although the association with men was not statistically significant [ 3 , 63 ].…”

“…People with BN seemed to inspire sympathy [ 60 ] and more friendly attitudes [ 52 ]. People with BED received equal or more negative attitudes, e.g., compared to those with AN and BN [ 54 , 63 ]; and people without BED [ 51 ]. However, AN and BN elicited more distrust than BED [ 2 , 33 ].…”

“…A desire for social distancing was also expressed toward people with BN [ 31 , 32 ]. For BED, participants’ desire for social distance from targets with BED was low, and not significantly different when compared to targets without BED [ 51 ]. Study participants were more likely to want to interact with people with BED than those with AN or BN [ 63 ], and expressed less desire for social distance from them [ 2 ], but for no significant difference in social distance assessment for all three ED populations, see [ 54 ].…”

“…Moreover, studies have shown that weight stigma has harmful consequences, e.g., depression, eating symptoms, [ 86 , 87 , 88 ]. However, a recent study found no evidence for additive effect of BED stigma and weight stigma [ 51 ]. The presence of BED limited and moderated weight stigma.…”