Development and Validation of the Fat Microaggressions Scale
Abstract
Much of the discrimination that higher-weight people face takes the form of microaggressions, which have yet to be quantitatively measured. Across five studies, I describe the development and validation of the Fat Microaggressions Scale (FMS). In Study 1, I created the initial item pool through examining previously published measures of experienced weight stigma, qualitative studies, and tweets using the #FatMicroaggressions hashtag. In Study 2, I conducted a Delphi review with fat activists and scholars to receive feedback on the scale. In Study 3, I provided initial evidence for a four-factor structure of the FMS through an exploratory factor analysis. In Study 4, I provided additional evidence of the scale’s structure through a confirmatory factor analysis, and construct validity. In Study 5, I further examined the scale’s validity and test-retest reliability. Together, this series of studies provided evidence for a new measure to further advance the study of weight stigma in the form of fat microaggressions.