Intimate saboteurs
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Updated: Oct 28, 2026

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
Published on: November 19, 2015
1Saint Luke Medical Center, Pasadena, California, USA.
Background:
The bariatric patient exists in dynamic relationship with family members and friends who have considerable influence upon the patient and his or her surgical outcome. When family members and friends behave as intimate saboteurs, they attempt to hamper, hurt, or subvert the bariatric patient's goal of achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight. Successful or not, intimate saboteurs provide significant treatment challenges for the patient and the treatment team.
Methods And Patients:
Patient profiles provide examples of intimate sabotage. The psychological construct of Family Systems Theory is used as a plausible explanation for the sabotage of friends and family.
Conclusions:
Multidisciplinary professionals treating the bariatric patient must be aware of the critical influence of intimate saboteurs and the tactics they use to sabotage. Treatment guidelines recommended by Family Systems Theory are presented as strategies to mitigate the influence of intimate saboteurs.
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