title: Weight-based rejection sensitivity: Scale development and implications for well-being.
abstract: We integrated theories of social stigma and rejection sensitivity to develop a new construct for understanding the effects of day-to-day experiences of interpersonal weight stigma: weight-based rejection sensitivity (W-RS), or a tendency to anxiously expect weight-based rejection. We created a new scale to measure W-RS. Studies 1 and 2 together established the scale as valid and reliable in a college student population. Study 3 examined the outcomes and predictive validity of W-RS by testing the effects of W-RS longitudinally across college students' first semester. Those who were high in W-RS were found to be at additional risk for compromised psychological and physical well-being over time. W-RS also predicted poorer adjustment to college. Overall, W-RS could help to explain individual reactions to stigma and to predict when weight stigmatization may have a greater likelihood of impacting a target.
authors.affiliation: St. John Fisher College, 3690 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14618, USA. Electronic address: kmcclure@sjfc.edu.
authors.forename: Kimberly J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: McClure Brenchley
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, 406 Babbidge Road, Unit 1020, Storrs, CT 06269, USA. Electronic address: diane.quinn@uconn.edu.
authors.forename: Diane M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Quinn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D001835:Body Weight; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D009511:New England; D050177:Overweight / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D012059:Rejection, Psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057545:Social Stigma; D013240:Stereotyping; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014495:Universities
keywords: Obesity; Rejection sensitivity; Weight stigma; Well-being