Citation
Palmer, Susanne L. (2018). Parental and peer support as moderators of objective and perceived weight and of sexual risk-taking behaviors in late-adolescent girls.
Abstract
Millions of overweight adolescents may be subjected to pervasive weight stigma during a developmental period of heightened susceptibility to social influences. One domain where overweight youth have exhibited particular social disadvantage is sexual risk-taking behaviors. This study conceptualizes the relationship between weight and sexual risk-taking within the framework of weight-based social identity threat, which posits risky sexual behavior as consequential to fears of rejection induced by weight stigma during sexual intimacy. Social support was investigated as a moderator of this relationship to determine if parental and peer support buffer the impact of objective and perceived weight on the number of sexual risk-taking behaviors. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis did not produce evidence supporting a moderated relationship, but correlational analysis identified some disparate associations between the variables by race. Additionally, weight bias was indicated in interviewers’ subjective appraisals of participants’ attractiveness. This research suggests the need for further investigation of the social correlates of weight and sexual risk-taking behaviors, with particular attention paid to outcomes by race.
Keyword(s)
Social sciences
Notes
ProQuest document ID 2128057316
Reference Type
Thesis/Dissertation
Book Title
Psychology
Author(s)
Palmer, Susanne L.
Series Author(s)
Ormerod, Alayne
Year Published
2018
Pages
117
Publisher
Fielding Graduate University
City of Publication
Ann Arbor, MI
ISSN/ISBN
9780438538696
DOI
9780438538696
Reference ID
7462
