The role of shame and self-compassion in the relationship between weight-based stigma and health-related behaviours

Couturier, Laura (2023) The role of shame and self-compassion in the relationship between weight-based stigma and health-related behaviours. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

Background: Weight-based stigma (WS) has been associated with a number of maladaptive health-related behaviours. Given that perceived negative evaluations from others are theorized contributors to heightened shame, and that shame has been linked with poor health-related behaviours, shame may explain the association between WS and health-related behaviours. Self-compassion, suggested to be an antidote to shame, may act as a protective factor against the impact of WS. The current study examined how WS relates to health-related behaviours in a young adult sample, whether heightened shame mediates the relationships between WS and health-related behaviours, and whether self-compassion moderates these relationships. Method: Participants (299 undergraduate students aged 18-25) completed online self-report measures of WS, health-related behaviours (i.e., disordered eating, physical activity, and substance use), shame, and self-compassion. Correlation coefficients between variables were generated and a mediation analysis was used to examine whether shame mediated the relationships between WS and health-related behaviours. A moderated mediation model was used to determine whether self-compassion moderated this mediation. Results: After controlling for body mass index (BMI), WS was associated with increased disordered eating and increased physical activity, with small to medium effect sizes, but was not significantly correlated with substance use. The association between WS and disordered eating was partially mediated by shame. Self-compassion did not moderate this mediation. Shame did not mediate the relationship between WS and physical activity. Conclusions: WS is a significant predictor of disordered eating and physical activity in young adults after controlling for BMI, with the relationship between WS and disordered eating partially explained by increased shame. Implications for clinical settings and anti-WS awareness programs are discussed.

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