Khan, SS, Tarrant, M, Weston, D, Shah, P and Farrow, C (2017) Can Raising Awareness about the Psychological Causes of Obesity Reduce Obesity Stigma? Health Communication, 33 (5). pp. 585-592. ISSN 1532-7027

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Abstract

Obesity stigma largely remains a socially acceptable bias with harmful outcomes for its victims. While many accounts have been put forward to explain the bias, the role of obesity etiology beliefs has received little scrutiny. The research examined the effect that beliefs about the psychological etiology of obesity have on the expression of obesity stigma and the mechanisms underpinning this effect. Participants (N = 463) were asked to evaluate a target person with obesity after reading one of three possible etiologies: psychological, genetic, or behavioral. The presentation of a psychological etiology of obesity elicited less prejudice compared to behavioral causes but greater prejudice compared to genetic causes; observed differences were found to be a function of the agency ascribed to the target’s obesity and empathy expressed for the target. The findings highlight the impact that communicating obesity in terms of psychological causes can have for the expression of obesity stigma.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Health Communications on 19th February 2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/10410236.2017.1283566
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Divisions: Faculty of Natural Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User: Symplectic
Date Deposited: 09 Jan 2017 09:25
Last Modified: 29 Mar 2019 14:22
URI: https://eprints.keele.ac.uk/id/eprint/2728

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