Testing risk and protective pathways between weight bias and mental health symptoms in a bariatric sample: Internalized weight bias, shame, and self-compassion

Background: Experienced weight bias (EWB) causes poor psychosocial and behavioral health in bariatric surgery patients pre- and post-operatively, yet little research has examined related mechanisms or risk/protective pathways. The current study tests a mediational model positing risk paths between EWB, internalized weight bias (IWB), shame, and effects on mental health symptoms. Self-compassion (SC), an affect regulation strategy inversely linked to each risk factor, was tested as a mediating protective factor.