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Psychometric properties of the Weight Self-Stigma Questionnaire (WSSQ) among a sample of overweight/obese French-speaking adolescents

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Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The Weight Self-Stigma Questionnaire (WSSQ) was recently developed to assess the internalization of weight stigma among English-speaking overweight and obese adults. The objective of the present study was to develop and examine the psychometric properties of a French version of the WSSQ, as well as its applicability to adolescents.

Methods

The sample comprised 156 overweight and obese adolescents (81 boys, 75 girls, Mage = 16.31). The factor validity and the convergent validity of the French version of the WSSQ were examined using a confirmatory factor analysis and a structural equation model, respectively.

Results

The a priori two-factor structure of the WSSQ and the composite reliability of its subscales (self-devaluation and fear of enacted stigma) were supported. Convergent validity analyses revealed that both WSSQ subscales were significantly and (a) negatively correlated with measures of self-esteem and physical appearance, and (b) positively correlated with measures of anxiety, depression, fear of negative appearance evaluation, and eating-related pathology (fear of getting fat, eating-related control, food preoccupation, vomiting-purging behaviors, and eating-related guilt subscales). However, no significant relation was found between the WSSQ subscales and body mass index.

Conclusion

These results suggest that the French version of the WSSQ has acceptable psychometric properties and can be used to assess weight self-stigma among overweight and obese adolescents.

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Acknowledgements

The data collection was supported in part by a Grant from the Public Health Agency of Canada (6262-05-2012/0381194) awarded to the Association pour la santé publique du Québec. Preparation of this article was also supported in part by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (430-2012-0091, 435-2014-0909) and the Australian Research Council (DP140101559) awarded to the first and last authors.

ASPQ Team: Chantal Bayard, Émilie Dansereau-Trahan, Lucie Granger, Amandine Vallerian.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cyberpsychology Laboratory, Département de Psychoéducation et de Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO), Gatineau, Canada

    Christophe Maïano & Annie Aimé

  2. Département de Psychoéducation et de Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO), Saint-Jérôme, Canada

    Christophe Maïano, Annie Aimé & Geneviève Lepage

  3. Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montréal, Canada

    Alexandre J. S. Morin

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  1. Christophe Maïano
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  2. Annie Aimé
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  4. Alexandre J. S. Morin
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Correspondence to Christophe Maïano.

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The authors have no conflict of interests to disclose.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants complied with the ethical standards of the institutional or national research committee, and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.

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The members of the ASPQ Team are listed in acknowledgement.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 3.

Table 3 English and French back-translated items from the WSSQ
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Maïano, C., Aimé, A., Lepage, G. et al. Psychometric properties of the Weight Self-Stigma Questionnaire (WSSQ) among a sample of overweight/obese French-speaking adolescents. Eat Weight Disord 24, 575–583 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-017-0382-0

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