Psychometric properties of a scale measuring negative attitudes toward overweight individuals

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Anti-fat Attitudes S cale (AFAS), a 5-item instrument developed by the authors to measure negati ve attitudes toward overweight individuals. A total of 4 studies were condu cted among Canadian adolescents (n = 1,452) and university students (n = 42 4). Results suggested that the AFAS possessed a unidimensional factor struc ture and satisfactory reliability for both men and women. As predicted, men obtained higher scores than women on the AFAS, and antifat attitudes were positively associated with authoritarianism, homonegativity, and political conservatism. Participants who were overweight had lower scores on the AFAS than participants who were thin or average weight. Responses on the AFAS d id not appear to be contaminated by social desirability bias.