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Adverse Childhood Experiences and Weight Stigma: Co-Occurrence and Associations with Psychological Well-Being
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Weight Stigma: Co-Occurrence and Associations with Psychological Well-Being

Erica M. Schulte, Caroline Bach, Robert I. Berkowitz, Janet D. Latner and Rebecca L. Pearl
Stigma and health (Washington, D.C.), v 6(4), pp 408-418
16 Sep 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/sah0000341
PMID: 34926807
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1037/sah0000341View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

adverse childhood experiences obesity weight bias internalization weight stigma
Prior research has demonstrated that individuals with a higher body weight (i.e., obesity) have a relatively high incidence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) (e.g., abuse, neglect). Individuals with obesity are also susceptible to experiencing and internalizing weight stigma. Negative physical and mental health consequences have been associated with both ACEs and weight stigma, yet the interplay between these factors has not been explored. The current study examined ACEs in a sample of 105 treatment-seeking adults with obesity who all reported having experienced and internalized weight stigma (90.5% women, 70.5% non-Hispanic White, mean age=49.1 years). The study aimed to 1) provide a descriptive overview of rates of ACEs in this unique sample of adults with potentially high psychological vulnerability and 2) assess associations between ACEs, weight stigma, and psychological well-being. Over three-fourths of participants (76.2%) reported experiencing at least one ACE. The total number of ACEs was significantly associated with more frequent experiences of and greater distress about weight stigma during childhood, as well as higher current perceived stress. Experiencing weight stigma for the first time in childhood was also associated with more reported ACEs. ACEs of abuse were associated with more lifetime reported experiences of weight stigma and greater internalization, use of eating as a strategy to cope with weight stigma, and higher perceived stress. These findings have implications for early identification of and tailored interventions for individuals who have experienced adverse events and weight stigma at a young age.

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14 Record Views
13 citations in Web of Science
12 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being
#5 Gender Equality

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Psychology, Social
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
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