Living while fat: Development and validation of the Fat Microaggressions Scale

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Public Health

Background:

• Fat microaggressions are commonplace indignities experienced by fat individuals.
• Existing research on microaggressions highlights their negative health associations.
• A validated scale for measuring fat microaggressions was previously unavailable.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and psychometrically validate the Fat Microaggressions Scale.
• To provide a quantitative measure for assessing fat microaggressions.

Main Methods:

• Item development involved systematic review, analysis of social media data (#fatmicroaggressions), and Delphi review.
• Four studies (N=343, 410, 197) were conducted to establish factor structure, construct validity, and test-retest reliability.
• Data were collected from online samples of fat adults.

Main Results:

• A four-factor structure for the Fat Microaggressions Scale was identified and confirmed.
• The scale demonstrated evidence of construct validity and test-retest reliability.
• The research successfully developed a psychometrically validated quantitative measure.

Conclusions:

• The Fat Microaggressions Scale is a newly validated tool for measuring these experiences.
• The scale provides a framework for categorizing and studying fat microaggressions.
• This measure can advance research on the health impacts of fat microaggressions.