Attitudes Toward, and Beliefs about, Obesity in a Sample of First-Year MSW Students

Background and Purpose:  Weight bias --negative beliefs about, or attitudes toward, people because of their weight or size-- has been referred to as “the last acceptable bias” (Puhl & Brownell, 2001).  While it has been increasingly studied in medicine and to a much lesser extent in the human services, very little study of its role in social work has been undertaken.  This represents a significant gap in social work knowledge, as biased beliefs have the potential to affect social work practice with vulnerable populations.  This study is the first to assess weight bias in a social work educational setting, specifically amongst first-year MSW students.    

Methods: Two valid and reliable measures of weight bias, the Attitudes Toward Obese People (ATOP) and Beliefs About Obese People (BAOP) scales, were completed by a sample of first-year MSW students participating in introductory research methods classes (N=117), yielding a 98% response rate.  The ATOP score can range from 0 to 120 and the BAOP can range from 0 to 48; higher scores indicate lower levels of bias.  General demographic information, including BMI, was also collected. 

Results:  Social work students overall exhibited moderate levels of weight bias according to the ATOP (M=77.18, SD=15.83, Range= 42-113) and BAOP (M=21.16, SD=6.15, Range =9-38).  These scores are slightly higher than those found in two similar projects studying NASW members (McCardle, 2008) and marriage/family therapists (Pratt et al., 2015), indicating lower levels of bias.  There was a significant difference between ATOP scores for African American students (M=85.82, SD=10.60) and non-African American students (M=76.41, SD=16.07); t(15.3)=-2.64, p=.018.  Secular students exhibited higher ATOP scores (M=81.30, SD=13.91) than religiously affiliated students (M=75.20, SD=16.47); t(114)=-2.00, p=.048.  Student-reported percentage of family and friends as obese was positively correlated with ATOP score, r(108)=.203, p=.034. 

Conclusions and Implications:  The findings suggest that MSW students do exhibit weight bias, though at slightly lower levels in comparison to previous research using the ATOP and BAOP with NASW members and marriage/family therapists.  Levels of bias appear to be connected to respondent race, religion, and percentage of family and friends who are obese.  Further research with undergraduate and graduate social work students is necessary to better understand trends in weight bias in this population.  While research into weight bias is important at all milestones in social work careers, further research into student beliefs is especially important because of the potential effects of weight bias on social work practice.