The Professional Counselor | Volume 13, Issue 2 90 Socio-Demographic Categories We found no statistically significant differences in weight bias toward counselors based on ethnicity F(4, 181) = .037, p = .997; age F(4, 181) = 1.71, p = .149; BMI F(4, 177) = .193, p = .942; counseling status t(184) = .798, p = .426; eating disorder t(184) = 1.055. p = .137; or gender F(2, 183) = 1.423, p = .426. Additionally, we tested for Pearson correlations between BMI and antifat attitudes. Results indicated that BMI and antifat attitudes had no significant correlation, r(N = 187) = .004, p = .958. Antifat Attitudes by Survey Condition To test for undue influence from survey design or responses that stem from social desirability, we ran an ANOVA comparing participants in each questionnaire condition (i.e., underweight, average weight, and overweight counselor) and their scores on the AFA. We found no statistically significant differences between the three groups, F(2, 181) = 2.74, p = .067. For the AFA scores, M = 40.22 and SD = 12.57. However, with the results of the AFA correlation with Counselor Trust and Counselor Selection, these findings may indicate that there was social desirability across all three survey conditions. Discussion Contrary to previous research from McKee and Smouse (1983) that suggested counselors of any weight could address personal concerns, our study results indicated that clients might use weight to select a counselor, trust the counselors’ skills, and follow their counsel. When asked about weight, participants in this study slightly preferred to select and trust the average-weight and overweight counselors, with weight bias directed mainly at the underweight counselor. Like previous research about weight bias toward physicians (Puhl et al., 2013) and personal trainers (Hutson, 2013), our results showed some weight bias toward overweight counselors when following advice. For underweight counselors, weight bias was present in all three subscales and mirrored findings that underweight persons are not immune to weight discrimination (Beggan & DeAngelis, 2015). Overweight Counselors Our results yielded only one finding that supported the theme from Moller and Tischner’s (2019) study that “fat counselors cannot help” (p. 14). Statistically significant results from the present study showed less willingness to follow the advice of overweight counselors. Similar to the findings from Puhl et al. (2013), taking advice or counsel from an overweight health care professional may prove more difficult than trusting they can perform their job or being willing to work with them. With two-thirds of adults in the United States considered overweight or obese (CDC, 2022), these findings may reflect cause for concern that some clients may not perceive competence in counselors who are overweight. The correlation between the AFA with Counselor Trust and Counselor Selection can give insight into the findings. The positive correlation between AFA and Counselor Trust was low but significant. With 60% of participants in the overweight-to-obese category, there could be an underlying factor that needs further exploration. There was no correlation between BMI and AFA. However, as Schwartz et al. (2006) suggested, overweight people have similar antifat attitudes as average-weight individuals. The slight correlation potentially relates to most participants having larger bodies and knowing that being in larger bodies does not equate to untrustworthiness. Likewise, for Counselor Selection, we should consider the concept of similar attraction. This concept posits that people associate with those perceived as similar to them and who have similar physical attributes (Montoya & Horton, 2013). Relating to this concept of similar attraction, the positive correlation between AFA and Counselor Selection could be attributed to the high percentage of larger-body participants feeling more comfortable selecting the overweight counselor.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDU5MTM1