SOME PREDICTORS OF ANTI-FAT PREJUDICES: JOINT ROLE OF GENDER, BODY SELF-CONFIDENCE, AND BMI
SOME PREDICTORS OF ANTI-FAT PREJUDICES: JOINT ROLE OF GENDER, BODY SELF-CONFIDENCE, AND BMI

Summary/Abstract: The main aim of this study was to check the role of Gender, BMI, and Body self-esteem in the prediction of anti-fat prejudices. The sample was a convenience one and included 311 members of the student population, both sexes, with an average age of 20 years (M = 20.39, SD = 2.58). There were 122 men (39.2%) and 189 women (60.8%). The following instruments were used: Explicit Anti-Fat Attitudes (AFA; Crandall, 1994) and the Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults (BESAA; Mendelson et al., 2001). The Body mass index (BMI) was operationalized by asking respondents for data on their height and weight and calculating their BMI. The data were analyzed using JAMOVI and linear regression. The gender of the respondents, their BMI, and Body self-esteem were predictors, while dimensions of anti-fat prejudices (Dislike, Fear of fat, and Willpower) were criterion variables. The results show that all three regression models were statistically significant. The explained percentage of variance for Dislike was 13.8%, for Fear of fat 18.4%, and for Willpower 19.7%. The results suggest that women are more afraid of gaining weight, while men tend to have higher scores on Dislike towards individuals suffering from obesity and are more prone to believing that individuals suffering from obesity do not have enough Willpower to change. BMI is also a significant predictor, but Body self-esteem is more important than BMI, and Attribution is the only dimension of Body self-esteem whose higher scores are connected to higher levels of prejudices.

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