Weight bias internalization scale: psychometric properties and population norms

PLoS One. 2014 Jan 29;9(1):e86303. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086303. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Objective: Internalizing the pervasive weight bias commonly directed towards individuals with overweight and obesity, co-occurs with increased psychopathology and impaired quality of life. This study sought to establish population norms and psychometric properties of the most widely used self-report questionnaire, the Weight Bias Internalization Scale (WBIS), in a representative community sample.

Design and methods: In a survey of the German population, N = 1158 individuals with overweight and obesity were assessed with the WBIS and self-report measures for convergent validation.

Results: Item analysis revealed favorable item-total correlation of all but one WBIS item. With this item removed, item homogeneity and internal consistency were excellent. The one-factor structure of the WBIS was confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis. Convergent validity was shown through significant associations with measures of depressive and somatoform symptoms. The WBIS contributed to the explanation of variance in depressive and somatoform symptoms over and above body mass index. Higher WBIS scores were found in women than in men, in individuals with obesity than in individuals with overweight, and in those with lower education or income than those with higher education or income. Sex-specific norms were provided.

Conclusions: The results showed good psychometric properties of the WBIS after removal of one item. Future research is warranted on further indicators of reliability and validity, for example, retest reliability, sensitivity to change, and prognostic validity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Bias
  • Body Mass Index
  • Educational Status
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Income
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Obesity / physiopathology
  • Obesity / psychology*
  • Psychometrics / statistics & numerical data*
  • Quality of Life / psychology*
  • Self Report*
  • Social Perception*

Grants and funding

This research was supported by internal funds by the Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology at the University of Leipzig and by grant 01EO1001 from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. We acknowledge support from the German Research Foundation and Leipzig University within the program of Open Access Publishing. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.