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BODY WEIGHT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING: DO THE ASSOCIATION AND MECHANISMS DIFFER ACROSS ADULTHOOD?

Fee, Holly R.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1306888524

Abstract Details

2011, Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, Sociology.
In contemporary U.S. society, thinness is highly valued and excessive weight is denigrated. Obese individuals are often stigmatized and targets of discrimination. The stigma and discrimination can then result in poor psychological well-being. Although obesity is stigmatized, stigmatizing attitudes toward obese individuals and the subsequent consequences may change throughout the adult life course. The present study examines the association between body weight and psychological well-being among young, middle-aged, and older adults using Wave I (1995) of the Midlife Development in the United States study (N = 2,932). I also explore the extent to which different mechanisms, such as perceived discrimination and weight control behaviors, explain the association between body weight and psychological well-being and how these may differ for young, middle-aged, and older adults. Prior research has generally focused on one set of pathways that may be relevant for young adults but they may not necessarily apply to middle-aged or older adults. The present study fills this research gap by improving our understanding of the association between body weight and psychological well-being and whether different mechanisms explain the association for different age groups in adulthood. Gender differences in the association between body weight and psychological well-being and its mechanisms over the adult life course are also explored. Results show that high body weight was negatively associated with psychological well-being, and this association was significant for all age groups. However, there were general and age-specific mechanisms that explained the association between body weight and psychological well-being across adulthood. For all age groups, weight perception explained the association between body weight and psychological well-being. Physical health explained the association between body weight and psychological well-being for young and middle-aged adults, but not for older adults. Although perceived discrimination had negative effects on psychological well-being for all age groups, it explained the association between body weight and psychological well-being for middle-aged adults only. Gender differences revealed that the association between body weight and psychological well-being and its mechanisms had a larger negative effect for women than men, and this finding was significant for young adults only.
I-Fen Lin, PhD (Advisor)
Susan L. Brown, PhD (Committee Member)
Deborah Carr, PhD (Committee Member)
76 p.
Sociology
body weight; obesity; psychological well-being; stigma; life course; age differences; gender differences

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Fee, H. R. (2011). BODY WEIGHT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING: DO THE ASSOCIATION AND MECHANISMS DIFFER ACROSS ADULTHOOD? [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1306888524

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Fee, Holly. BODY WEIGHT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING: DO THE ASSOCIATION AND MECHANISMS DIFFER ACROSS ADULTHOOD? 2011. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1306888524.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Fee, Holly. "BODY WEIGHT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING: DO THE ASSOCIATION AND MECHANISMS DIFFER ACROSS ADULTHOOD?" Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1306888524

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.