“The most hurtful thing I've ever experienced”: A qualitative examination of the nature of experiences of weight stigma by family members

Lawrence, Samantha E.; Puhl, Rebecca M.; Schwartz, Marlene B.; Watson, Ryan J.; Foster, Gary D.

doi:10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100073

Cited by 17 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…The present study found that more frequent comments from mothers about weight/shape and eating was a significantly predictive factor of EDCs and psychological distress, and that gendered effects were more pronounced with daughters [ 5 , 8 , 20 , 29 ]. However, this was not the case for quality of life, where mothers’ communications appeared to become protective and associated with increased quality of life.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…However, this was not the case for quality of life, where mothers’ communications appeared to become protective and associated with increased quality of life. This could suggest that mothers are potentially more attuned and willing to have those conversations, which is confirmed by prevalence data on maternal comments [ 5 , 19 , 20 , 22 ], and, therefore, such comments can create an environment which add to a positive quality of life, even if the comments are not always perceived as positive. However, there are many other contributing factors, such as parental involvement in the home and other family or community influences, which could have contributed to our findings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Their comments, although less prevalent than mothers, can have significant associations with EDCs and psychological distress [ 13 , 27 , 45 ]. The findings ask us to explore whether one parents’ comments are more influential, or if the differing modes of influence are acting in concert, leading to the cumulation of comments providing fertile soil for more sensitivity to comments from one parent or another [ 5 , 20 , 23 , 29 , 33 ]. This could extend to the other influences on an adolescents’ physical and psychological wellbeing, peers, siblings, the media, what is said around them, and how their parents talk about their own weight, shape and eating [ 3 , 15 , 17 , 28 , 33 , 34 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The influence of communication can be direct, such as verbal and targeted (e.g., parent to child), or indirect, such as non-verbal (e.g., eye movements) or when speaking about someone else (e.g., “they look great with a little less weight on their hips”) [ 13 , 16 , 17 ]. Mothers have been found to comment more frequently, particularly to daughters about their bodies and their eating [ 5 , 7 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ], and maternal delivered content has been more attuned to thin-idealisation, while alternations, such as muscle-ideation, are more likely to be reported in father–son communications [ 19 , 23 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research has investigated the prevalence of positive and negative eating and weight/shape-related comments [ 5 , 7 ], the importance and associations of these comments with mothers and fathers [ 5 , 20 , 24 ], associations between weight talk exposure, psychological distress, and unhealthy eating and/or weight control behaviours [ 13 , 15 , 17 ], maternal encouragement to diet with boys and girls [ 25 ], and the perception and nuances of such communication [ 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Associations between Parents’ Body Weight/Shape Comments and Disordered Eating Amongst Adolescents over Time—A Longitudinal Study

et al. 2023

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Parents are key influencers of adolescents’ attitudes on weight, shape, and eating, and make more positive than negative comments, with negative comments most impactful. This study examined prospective unique associations of parental positive and negative comments in a community sample of adolescents with paediatric psychosocial quality of life (PED-QoL), Eating Disorder Weight/Shape Cognitions (EDEQ-WS), BMI percentile, and Psychological Distress (K10) scales. Data were from 2056 adolescents from the EveryBODY study cohort. Multiple regressions were conducted for the impacts of parental positive and negative comments on four dependent variables at one year after controlling for their stage of adolescence (early, middle, late). Multiple imputation and bootstrapping were used for handling missing data and violations of normality. Results indicated that positive maternal comments on eating were associated with increased EDCs and better quality of life at one year. Paternal positive weight shape comments were associated with a decrease in psychological distress, but positive eating comments saw a decrease in quality of life. Findings highlight the nuances of parental comments and how these are perceived and interpreted, and could alert health care workers and family practitioners who have weight, shape, and eating conversations to be aware of the potential influence of their communication.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Associations between Parents’ Body Weight/Shape Comments and Disordered Eating Amongst Adolescents over Time—A Longitudinal Study

et al. 2023

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An exploration of how adolescents experience and reason their parents' comments on their weight, shape, and eating

Dahill

Morrison

Touyz

et al. 2023

Journal of Adolescence

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IntroductionDisordered eating among adolescents is of increasing concern given associated physical and mental health sequelae. Cognitions underlying disordered eating are formed in childhood and adolescence. Parents are a significant presence during this period, so it is critical to understand how they influence their adolescent's eating cognitions and behaviors.MethodsQualitative analysis using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) methodology was employed to consider the lived experiences of 10 Australian adolescents (14–19 years), 60% female, as they engaged with their parents in a range of weight, shape, and eating communications.ResultsOur inductive IPA revealed three key themes representing adolescents' experiences and meaning‐making: Parents as Influencers—adolescents acknowledged parents are influencers (objects) within a wider context of community and cultural norms (symbols) and can be protective for peer influence on body image ideals; Expression and Perception—the “what” (weight‐talk as an object) and the “how” (objects as independent influences) of gendered parental communication related to health and fitness ideals and illustrated diverse interpretations of both verbal and non‐verbal expression; and Fertile Soil and Maturity—the adolescent's characteristics and context influence perceptions of communication, a fear of deviating from norms, and an overarching focus on being “healthy” yet not always knowing what that was. Perception of bidirectional communication also offered valuable insights into potential dangers through family loyalty and in‐group permissions.ConclusionsFindings highlight implications for the nuanced influence of parental communication and illustrate the pivotal role of parents within the bioecosystem of adolescent development.

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Family‐based weight stigma and psychosocial health: A multinational comparison

Lawrence

Puhl

Watson

et al. 2023

Obesity

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Objective Family‐based weight stigma can be expressed as criticism, judgment, teasing, and mistreatment by family members because of an individual's body weight. The current study compared the prevalence and psychosocial correlates of family‐based weight stigma among adult members of a weight‐management program living in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the UK, and the US. Methods Participants (N = 8100 adults who reported having ever experienced weight stigma; 95% female; 94% White) completed an identical online survey in their country's dominant language that assessed their experiences of weight stigma from 16 different family member sources, as well as internalized weight bias, body image, eating behaviors, perceived stress, and self‐rated health. Results Family‐based weight stigma, especially from mothers (49%‐62%), spouses/romantic partners (40%‐57%), and fathers (35%‐48%), was highly prevalent across countries. Weight stigma from one's immediate family members was associated with indices of poorer psychosocial health across the six countries (β coefficients = |0.08‐0.13|). Conclusions Findings highlight the need for weight stigma‐reduction efforts to help family members distinguish between supportive, encouraging discourse and potentially weight‐stigmatizing communication. Future research should examine the prevalence and correlates of family‐based weight stigma in more diverse community samples, including among racially/ethnically and gender diverse adults, and in non‐Western countries.

show abstract

“The most hurtful thing I've ever experienced”: A qualitative examination of the nature of experiences of weight stigma by family members

Cited by 17 publications

References 59 publications

Associations between Parents’ Body Weight/Shape Comments and Disordered Eating Amongst Adolescents over Time—A Longitudinal Study

Associations between Parents’ Body Weight/Shape Comments and Disordered Eating Amongst Adolescents over Time—A Longitudinal Study

An exploration of how adolescents experience and reason their parents' comments on their weight, shape, and eating

Family‐based weight stigma and psychosocial health: A multinational comparison

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