Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Weight Self-Stigma Questionnaire (S-WSSQ) in a sample of participants with obesity seeking weight loss treatment

Purpose Weight self-stigma may be defined as a self-devaluation due to one's identification with the group of people with obesity. The Weight Self-Stigma Questionnaire (WSSQ) is an instrument specifically designed to measure weight self-stigma in populations with overweight or obesity. The objective of this study was to adapt the WSSQ to the Spanish population (S-WSSQ) following the guidelines for cross-cultural adaptations. Methods The sample comprised 165 participants with obesity seeking weight loss treatment (65% women) at the Hospital de Valme (Seville, Spain). Scales to measure life satisfaction, self-esteem, positive and negative affect, and antifat attitudes were used to analyze the convergent and divergent validity of the S-WSSQ. Results A confirmatory factor analysis showed adequate values of the goodness of fit indexes of a two-factor model (chi(2)/df = 2.01 CFI = 0.92, IFI = 0.92, SRMR = 0.08, RMSEA = 0.078), replicating the structure found by the original authors. Cronbach's alphas of the two factors were 0.76 (self-devaluation) and 0.77 (fear of enacted stigma). Composite Reliability values were 0.72 (self-devaluation) and 0.76 (fear of enacted stigma). Self-devaluation and fear of enacted stigma were negatively related to self-esteem, and positive affect, and positively related to negative affect and antifat attitudes. Finally, life satisfaction was negatively correlated to fear of enacted stigma. Conclusions Based on these results, it is concluded that the S-WSSQ has good psychometric properties and might be used by the Spanish-speaking scientific community to measure weight self-stigma.

Automated summary

This study aimed to adapt the Weight Self-Stigma Questionnaire to the Spanish population and evaluate its psychometric properties. The results showed that the questionnaire had good psychometric properties and can effectively measure weight self-stigma in the Spanish population.