Weight stigma is a source of social discrimination towards people with larger bodies. Despite the evidence that indicates larger bodied individuals can maintain positive health outcomes, they continue to experience high rates of weight stigma, making activities of daily living like healthcare a potentially distressing situation. Health professionals with weight biases are likely to suggest more extreme behavior changes such as dieting to those who are overweight, and these methods are not always sustainable. Weight inclusive approaches have emerged as an alternative way to help those who struggle with restrictive dieting methods, in favor of taking smaller steps towards a healthy lifestyle. Because weight bias can influence the physical and mental health of patients, it is imperative future generations of health professionals are provided adequate training to reduce weight bias and to practice weight-inclusive approaches during patient interactions. The purpose of this study is to assess how students in a medical nutrition therapy course respond to non-diet, weight neutral principles following the implementation of a semester-long project involving anti-diet literature. We qualitatively explore the attitudes of students in this course as they read anti-diet literature throughout the semester using thematic analysis techniques. The Anti-Diet text created internal conflict throughout the reading, which was a strong driver in students’ learning of the various topics. Students also expressed how certain topics and personal experiences led to adopting a more weight-inclusive mindset. These findings can support the development and testing of innovative educational content and methods to further reduce weight-bias in healthcare professionals.

Hispanic/Latino(a) adolescents experience disproportionate rates of mental health problems and barriers to receiving behavioral health services. Weight-based victimization has become a diffusion of mistreatment among adolescents and can have enduring detrimental effects. Yet few studies focus on appearance-based harassment and the prevalence of suicidality among minorities. This study examined weight-based victimization and suicidality among Hispanic/Latino(a) students. Methods: Data were from a 2019 Minnesota Student Survey (MSS) in 8th, 9th, and 11th graders. The sample comprised of a total of 9,916 Hispanic/Latinx students. Central America (8.0%), Mexico (62.7%), Multiple Regions (4.6%), Puerto Rico (4.5%), South America (4.5%), and Spanish/other (15.5%). Weight/physical appearance victimization was measured by two items on past 30-day harassment. Suicide thoughts and behaviors (STB) were measured by two separate items. We used a logistic regression model to assess the likelihood of STB in the sample adjusting for covariate. Results: Rates of victimization ranged from 30.3% (CA) to 41.5% (PR). Rates for STB ranged from 22.1% (SA) to 29.3% (MR) for ideation and 10.5% (SA) to 16.5% (MR) attempts. Students who were victimized were more likely to experience ideation and suicide attempts. Girls had more than 2.5 (CI: 2.21, 2.91) times higher odds of STB compared to boys, and victimization increased the odds for ideation 2.3 (CI: 2.13, 2.58) times and attempts 2.6 (CI: 2.27, 2.94) times. Conclusion: Hispanic/Latino(a) students who were victimized had an increased likelihood of suicide attempt and ideation. Recommendations may be to implement accessible prevention programs and services within the community to decrease suicidality.

As youth with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) transition into adolescence, they experience body dissatisfaction at higher rates than those without ADHD. Crucially, body dissatisfaction mediates the relation between ADHD and later-life depression. Previous research has shown that women experience higher rates of body dissatisfaction than men–and that such dissatisfaction is linked to depression, anxiety, increased alcohol use, self-harm, and suicidality. Better understanding of these associations and the mechanisms underlying them, especially among women with histories of ADHD, is warranted to further improve interventions. Therefore, this project tests the association between body dissatisfaction during adolescence and the adulthood outcomes of depression, anxiety, alcohol abuse, self harm and suicidality. Exploratory analyses will be conducted to examine the effects of high-quality support from family and peers on the negative effects of body dissatisfaction. My hypotheses are as follows: (1) increased body dissatisfaction in adolescence will be significantly associated with the increase of the negative adulthood outcomes of depression, anxiety, alcohol abuse, self harm, and suicidality, and (2) high-quality social support will reduce the negative effects of body dissatisfaction on adulthood outcomes. Using archival data collected over 20 years by Dr. Stephen Hinshaw and the Hinshaw Lab, I will apply multivariate regression to test the aforementioned associations and moderators. Additionally, path modeling will be used to better understand the mechanisms underlying these associations.

Experiencing health stigma (enacted or internalized) as an individual with a chronic health condition (CHC) can lead to adverse social experiences and poorer psychological wellbeing. This study examines relationships between health stigma, social experience, and psychological wellbeing in emerging adults with CHCs. Students (N = 107) attending a large midwestern university completed a series of self-report measures assessing physical health, social experience (i.e., social connection, support, loneliness), health stigma, and various dimensions of psychological wellbeing (i.e., autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, self-acceptance) via online surveys. Regression analyses will examine relationships between health-related stigma, social experience, and psychological wellbeing in emerging adults with CHCs. We expect consistent research findings across relationships between health stigma, social experience, and psychological wellbeing: with stigma predicting increased loneliness, decreased perceptions of social support, and connection across dimensions of psychological wellbeing as evidenced via lower reported autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relationships with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance in students with CHCs. Findings from this study will increase our understanding of the biopsychosocial implications of health stigma in persons with CHCs to inform the provision of healthcare services, resources, and support tailored for individuals with CHCs.