The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the explicit attitudes of counselors toward individuals who are obese. The study used descriptive and regression analyses to examine the data collected from the completion of the Attitudes Toward Obese Persons (ATOP), the Beliefs About Obese Persons (BAOP), and a researcher-developed questionnaire. The relationships between the respondents’ attitudes towards obese persons, as measured by the ATOP, and the variables of beliefs about controllability, sex, years licensed as a professional counselor, personal weight experience, and perceptions were explored in a sample of licensed professional counselors in Ohio (N = 363). The analysis revealed that there were three statistically significant relationships. First, there was a moderate positive relationship between ATOP and BAOP mean score where r = .42 (p < .002) demonstrating that the more that one believed weight was under the control of the obese individual, the more negative the attitudes held toward the obese individual. Secondly, there was a moderate negative relationship found between ATOP mean scores and the importance of addressing obesity when counseling an obese client (r = -.30, p < .002). Thirdly, there was a small negative relationship between attitudes and willingness to bring up obesity with a client (r = -.15, p = .0047).
The researcher also examined the possible statistically significant differences in attitudes within categories by examining differences in attitudes for gender, years of licensure, BMI, weight dissatisfaction, current weight practices, number of weight loss attempts, percentage of successful weight loss attempts, and trainings on working with obese clients. There were no statistical differences in the means of the ATOP scores within each category for each of these items. In addition, multiple regression analysis was used to gain understanding about the amount of variance in explicit attitudes that can be accounted for by theoretically or statistically significant variables. The researcher conducted a forced entry multiple regression that included each of the discussed predictor variables. The resulting model was significant, F (7, 337) = 13.91, p < .005, and accounted for 23% of the variance in ATOP mean scores (R2 = 22.8). Beliefs about controllability and perceptions of the importance of addressing obesity when counseling an obese client were each found to be significant predictors of ATOP scores. The other predictor variables were not found to be significant predictors of ATOP scores.
Finally, the researcher conducted an initial exploration of the descriptive statistics of the Low and High ATOP groups. This analysis demonstrated, however, that there were many similarities between those respondents with negative attitudes and positive attitudes towards obese persons, including training. Results of this study could inform future experimental research efforts addressing weight bias in licensed professional counselors, as well to encourage professional dialogue in the counseling field.