Fat Talk Among College Women is Both Contagious and Harmful

Sex Roles

Volumn 66, Issue 9-10, 2012, Pages 636-645

  Salk, Rachel Hannah ^a,b   Engeln Maddox, Renee ^a  

^a NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MADISON   (United States)

Author keywords

Body dissatisfaction; Body image; Fat talk

Indexed keywords

EID: 84859213944     PISSN: 03600025     EISSN: 15732762     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s11199-011-0050-1     Document Type: Article

References (41)

1. Becker, A. E. (2004). Television, disordered eating, and young women in Fiji: Negotiating body image and identity during rapid social change. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, 28, 533-559. doi: 10. 1007/s11013-004-1067-5.
2. Becker, C. B., & Stice, E. (2008). Sorority body image program: Workbook. New York: Oxford University Press.
3. Bessenoff, G. R. (2006). Can the media affect us? Social comparison, self-discrepancy and the thin ideal. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30, 239-251. doi: 10. 1111/j. 1471-6402. 2006. 00292. x.
4. Bosson, J. K., Pinel, E. C., & Thompson, J. K. (2008). The affective consequences of minimizing women's body image concerns. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32, 257-266. doi: 10. 1111/j. 1471-6402. 2008. 00434. x.
5. Britton, L., Martz, D., Bazzini, D., Curtin, L., & LeaShomb, A. (2006). Fat talk and self presentation of body image: Is there a social norm for women to self-degrade? Body Image, 3, 247-254. doi: 10. 1016/j. bodyim. 2006. 05. 006.
6. Burney, J., & Irwin, H. (2000). Shame and guilt in women with eating disorder symptomatology. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56, 51-61. doi: 10. 1002/(SICI)1097-4679(200001)56: 1< 51:: AID-JCLP5> 3. 0. CO; 2-W.
7. Cash, T. F., Fleming, E. C., Alindogan, J., Steadman, L., & Whitehead, A. (2002). Beyond body image as a trait: The development and validation of the Body Image States Scale. Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention, 10, 103-113. doi: 10. 1080/10640260290081678.
8. Clark, P. M., Murnen, S. K., & Smolak, L. (2010). Development and psychometric evaluation of a quantitative measure of "fat talk". Body Image, 7, 1-7. doi: 10. 1016/j. bodyim. 2009. 09. 006.
9. Davis, C., & Katzman, M. A. (1997). Charting new territory: Body esteem, weight satisfaction, depression and self-esteem among Chinese males and females in Hong Kong. Sex Roles, 36, 447-457. doi: 10. 1007/BF02766683.
10. Feingold, A., & Mazzella, R. (1998). Gender differences in body image are increasing. Psychological Science, 9, 190-195. doi: 10. 1111/1467-9280. 00036.
11. Frederick, D. A., Peplau, L. A., & Lever, J. (2006). The swimsuit issue: Correlates of body image in a sample of 52, 677 heterosexual adults. Body Image, 4, 413-419. doi: 10. 1016/j. bodyim. 2006. 08. 002.
12. Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women's lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173-206. doi: 10. 1111/j. 1471-6402. 1997. tb00108. x.
13. Gapinski, K. D., Brownell, K. D., & LaFrance, M. (2003). Body objectification and "fat talk": Effects on emotion, motivation, and cognitive performance. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 48, 377-388. doi: 10. 1023/A: 1023516209973.
14. Garner, D. M. (1991). Eating disorder inventory-2 professional manual. Odessa: Psychological Assessment Resources.
15. Garner, D. M., Olmstead, M. P., & Polivy, J. (1983). Development and validation of a multidimensional eating disorder inventory for anorexia nervosa and bulimia. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 2, 15-34. doi: 10. 1002/1098-108X(198321)2: 2< 15:: AID-EAT2260020203> 3. 0. CO; 2-6.
16. Groesz, L. M., Levine, M. P., & Murnen, S. K. (2002). The effect of experimental presentation of thin media images on body satisfaction: A meta-analytic review. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 31, 1-16. doi: 10. 1002/eat. 10005.
17. Hope, C. (1980). American beauty rituals. In R. B. Browne (Ed.), Rituals and ceremonies in popular culture (pp. 226-237). Bowling Green: Bowling Green University Press.
18. Jeffery, R. W., Adlis, S. A., & Forster, J. L. (1991). Prevalence of dieting among working men and women: The healthy worker project. Heath Psychology, 10, 274-281. doi: 10. 1037/0278-6133. 10. 4. 274.
19. Jung, J., & Forbes, G. (2006). Multidimensional assessment of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in Korean and U. S. college women: A comparative study. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 55, 39-50. doi: 10. 1007/s11199-006-9058-3.
20. Keel, P. K., Mitchell, J. E., Davis, T. L., & Crow, S. J. (2001). Relationship between depression and body dissatisfaction in women diagnosed with bulimia nervosa. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 30, 48-56. doi: 10. 1002/eat. 1053.
21. Liechty, J. M. (2010). Body image distortion and three types of weight loss behaviors among nonoverweight girls in the United States. Journal of Adolescent Health, 47, 176-182. doi: 10. 1016/j. jadohealth. 2010. 01. 004.
22. Martz, D. M., Petroff, A. B., Curtin, L., & Bazzini, D. G. (2009). Gender differences in fat talk among American adults: Results from the psychology of size survey. Sex Roles, 61, 34-41. doi: 10. 1007/s11199-009-9587-7.
23. Mukai, T., Kambara, A., & Sasaki, Y. (1998). Body dissatisfaction, need for social approval, and eating disturbances among Japanese and American college women. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 39, 751-752. doi: 10. 1023/A: 1018812218467.
24. Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1988-2009). Mplus user's guide (5th ed.). Los Angeles: Muthen & Muthen.
25. Nichter, M. (2000). Fat talk. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
26. Nichter, M., & Vuckovic, N. (1994). Fat talk. In N. Sault (Ed.), Many mirrors: Body image and social relations (pp. 109-131). New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
27. Ousley, L., Cordero, E. D., & White, S. (2008). Fat talk among college students: How undergraduates communicate regarding food and body weight, shape, and appearance. Eating Disorders, 16, 73-84. doi: 10. 1080/10640260701773546.
28. Payne, L. O., Martz, D. M., Tompkins, K. B., Petroff, A. B., & Farrow, C. V. (2011). Gender comparisons of fat talk in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research. doi: 10. 1007/s11199-010-9881-4.
29. Rodin, J., Silberstein, L., & Striegel-Moore, R. (1985). Women and weight: A normative discontent. In T. B. Sonderegger (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation, psychology and gender (pp. 267-308). Lincoln: University of Nebraska.
30. Safir, M. P., Flaisher-Kellner, S., & Rosenmann, A. (2005). When gender differences surpass cultural differences in personal satisfaction with body shape in Israeli college students. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 52, 369-378. doi: 10. 1007/s11199-005-2679-0.
31. Salk, R. H., & Engeln-Maddox, R. (2011). "If you're fat then I'm humongous": Frequency, content, and impact of fat talk among college women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 35, 18-28. doi: 10. 1177/0361684310384107.
32. Sanftner, J. L., Barlow, D. H., Marschall, D. E., & Tangney, J. P. (1995). The relation of shame and guilt to eating disorder symptomatology. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 4, 315-324.
33. Silberstein, L. R., Striegel-Moore, R. H., & Rodin, J. (1987). Feeling fat: A woman's shame. In H. B. Lewis (Ed.), The role of shame in symptom formation (pp. 89-108). Hillsdale: Erlbaum.
34. Smith, P. M., & Ogle, J. P. (2006). Interactions among high school cross-country runners and coaches: Creating a cultural context for athletes' embodied experiences. Family and Consumer Sciences, 24, 276-307. doi: 10. 1177/1077727X05283598.
35. Spillane, N. S., Boerner, L. M., Anderson, K. G., & Smith, G. T. (2004). Comparability of the eating disorder inventory-2 between women and men. Assessment, 11, 85-93. doi: 10. 1177/1073191103260623.
36. Stice, E. (2002). Risk and maintenance factors for eating pathology: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 825-848. doi: 10. 1037/0033-2909. 128. 5. 825.
37. Stice, E., Maxfield, J., & Wells, T. (2003). Adverse effects of social pressure to be thin on young women: An experimental investigation of the effects of "fat talk". International Journal of Eating Disorders, 34, 108-117. doi: 10. 1002/eat. 10171.
38. Tompkins, K. B., Martz, D. M., Rocheleau, C. A., & Bazzini, D. G. (2009). Social likeability, conformity, and body talk: Does fat talk have a normative rival in female body image conversations? Body Image, 6, 292-298. doi: 10. 1016/j. bodyim. 2009. 07. 005.
39. Tucker, K. L., Martz, D. M., Curtin, L. A., & Bazzini, D. G. (2007). Examining 'fat talk' experimentally in a female dyad: How are women influenced by another women's body presentation style? Body Image, 4, 157-164. doi: 10. 1016/j. bodyim. 2006. 12. 005.
40. van den Berg, P., & Thompson, J. K. (2007). Self-schema and social comparison explanations of body dissatisfaction: A laboratory investigation. Body Image, 4, 29-38. doi: 10. 1016/j. bodyim. 2006. 12. 004.
41. Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063-1070. doi: 10. 1037/0022-3514. 54. 6. 1063.