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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Social stigma and self-esteem as mediators of the relationship between Body Mass Index and Internet addiction disorder. An exploratory study

Ambra GentileBarbara CaciRocco ServidioStefano Boca

subject

Mediation (statistics)Social stigmabusiness.industrymedia_common.quotation_subjectAddictioneducation05 social sciencesSelf-esteemExploratory research050109 social psychology03 medical and health sciencesInternet addiction disorder0302 clinical medicinemental disorders0501 psychology and cognitive sciencesThe InternetBody Mass Index Internet Addiction Self-esteem Social StigmaPsychologybusinessSettore M-PSI/05 - Psicologia SocialeBody mass index030217 neurology & neurosurgeryGeneral PsychologyClinical psychologymedia_common

description

The present study aimed at investigating the mediational effects of social stigma and self-esteem on the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and Internet addiction disorder. A total of 413 participants aged between 18 and 26 years old (M = 20.94 SD = 2.95) were assessed with self-report standardized questionnaires exploring self-esteem (i.e. Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale - RSES), Internet addiction (i.e. Young Internet Addiction Test- YIAT), and social-stigma (i.e. Perception of Teasing Scale - POT), and with objective measures related to BMI. Results showed a partial direct association between BMI and Internet addiction. Specifically, our mediation model revealed a good fit to data showing that BMI is a directly significant predictor of Internet addiction (β =.10) and social stigma (β =.27). Social stigma, in turn, predicts self-esteem (β = −.19) and Internet addiction (β =.12). Furthermore, self-esteem predicts Internet addiction. In conclusion, the results of the present study suggest that people who are stigmatized for being overweight exhibit low levels of perceived self-esteem, and increase, in turn, their perceived levels of Internet addiction. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2018-11-11Current Psychology
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-018-0054-x