Investigating the impact of causal attributions on anorexia nervosa stigma

Stigmatisation of eating disorders can have debilitating consequences for individuals experiencing such conditions, such as reduced help-seeking and physical and mental deterioration. Dispositional attribution of blame appears to be central to this stigmatisation. Currently, it remains unclear as to whether precise aspects of blame, such as control over and responsibility for the disorder, specifically contribute to these negative dispositional attributions. So, the current study sought to explore causal attribution patterns towards individuals with AN among an adult population.

One-hundred and forty-six participants (M = 36.52 years; SD = 14.45; 118 female) completed an online survey where they were initially randomly assigned to read either a blameworthy (n = 61) or unblameworthy (n = 85) vignette describing a fictional character with AN. Following this, participants completed two self-report inventories (Causal Attribution Scale and Eating Disorder Stigma Scale) measuring their causal attributions and stigma levels regarding the character. Mann-Whitney U tests were completed to evaluate attitudinal differences across groups.

Participants in the blameworthy condition significantly attributed more control over the illness to the AN character and held greater mean levels of stigma than participants in the unblameworthy condition. No significant differences were found between conditions for attributions of responsibility and blame. Finally, total causal attribution scores significantly predicted total stigma scores.

The findings indicate that stigma towards those with AN may result in part from negative attitudes where individuals experiencing AN are viewed as being in control of their condition. Erroneous attribution of dispositional control can influence interpretations of the cause of AN and trigger inappropriate behavioural responses such as stigmatisation, which can have serious consequences for help-seeking in those with AN. Responsibility-based attributions demonstrated less influence on stigma levels.