The association between stigma consciousness and weight stigma, psychological well-being, positive body image, and eating behaviors

Stigma consciousness refers to an individual difference in the extent to which members of stereotyped groups believe that their stereotyped status permeates interactions with out-group members. This investigation examined whether stigma consciousness contributed unique variance in predicting mental well-being, and eating and positive body image outcomes (i.e., depression, self-esteem, body appreciation, intuitive eating, emotional eating) after controlling for experienced weight stigma (EWS), including fat microaggressions (FM), and internalized weight bias (IWB). Study participants (N = 288) were recruited through a Qualtrics research panel, all of whom were required to be at least 18 years old with a BMI > 25. In hierarchical regressions predicting self-esteem, depression, body appreciation, and intuitive eating, stigma consciousness significantly accounted for 3.7-20.0 % of unique variance beyond EWS, FM, and IWB. Stigma consciousness was not associated with emotional eating and did not predict depressive symptoms after accounting for weight stigma. The belief that one is being judged according to stereotypes may not be sufficient to induce occurrences of emotional eating, nor contribute uniquely to depression symptoms above and beyond weight stigma. These findings indicate that stigma consciousness is not redundant with existing weight-related constructs such as FM, IWB, and EWS in predicting self-esteem, body appreciation, and intuitive eating. These findings further indicate that the expectation that an individual is being judged based on stereotypes related to their identity is associated with negative psychological outcomes. Developing interventions to empower individuals and buffer against the harmful effects of stigma consciousness is imperative.