Factors Related to Weight-Bias Among Counselors

More than two-thirds of adults and one-sixth of children and adolescents in the United States experience higher levels of body fat and/or obesity (Hales et al., 2020). Individuals with higher levels of body fat often experience weight-bias, prejudice, and discrimination from various sources including mental health professionals in the fields of psychology, social work, and marriage and family therapy (Cravens, et al., 2016; Davis-Coelho, et al., 2000; Pratt, et al., 2015; Young & Powell, 1985). However, little is known about the presence of weight-bias within the counseling field. Literature shows that weight-bias can negatively impact physical and mental health (Friedman & Puhl, 2012; Himmelstein et al., 2017; Puhl et al., 2017). Counselors may be exhibiting weight-bias towards clients, thus causing harm (Feister, 2012). The counseling profession has committed to developing multiculturally competent counselors, yet body weight is not included in discussions of bias, prejudice, oppression, and power (Bergen & Mollen, 2019). This study used a correlational, non-experimental research design and a standard multiple regression to explore relationships between weight-bias and race, gender, weight-bias education, multicultural competence, and personal experiences with weight-bias among licensed counselors (N= 587). Results indicated there were statistically significant relationships between weight-bias and gender, weight-bias education, and multicultural competence. The group of predictor variables explained a significant portion of the variance in weight-bias among counselors (F(5,553)=9.459, p<.001, R^2=.079, adjusted R^2=.070), which accounted for 7.9% of the variance.