Philip R. Costanzo

Bio: Philip R. Costanzo is an academic researcher from Duke University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Peer group & Population. The author has an hindex of 31, co-authored 84 publications receiving 3975 citations. Previous affiliations of Philip R. Costanzo include University of Florida & Durham University.

Weight stigmatization and ideological beliefs: relation to psychological functioning in obese adults.

Abstract: Objective: This study evaluated the relation among weight-based stigmatization, ideological beliefs about weight, and psychological functioning in an obese, treatment-seeking sample. Research Methods and Procedure: Ninety-three obese, treatment-seeking adults (24 men and 69 women) completed a battery of self-report questionnaires measuring psychological adjustment, attitudes about weight, belief in the controllability of weight, and the frequency of weight-based stigmatization. Results: Weight-based stigmatization was a common experience for participants. Frequency of stigmatizing experiences was positively associated with depression, general psychiatric symptoms, and body image disturbance, and negatively associated with self-esteem. Further, participants’ own negative attitudes about weight problems were associated with their psychological distress and moderated the relation between the experience of stigmatization and body image. Discussion: Weight-based stigmatization is a common experience for obese individuals seeking weight loss treatment and appears to contribute to poor mental health adjustment. The negative effects of these experiences are particularly damaging for those who hold strong antifat beliefs.

Domain-Specific Parenting Styles and Their Impact on the Child's Development of Particular Deviance: The Example of Obesity Proneness

Abstract: A domain-specfic model for the parenting of deviant dispositions in children is proposed in this paper. The model offered is predicated on the notion that in areas of “dev unit” behavior, parents' concerns and parents' constraints on children coalesce to produce eventual problems in self-control. Such problems tend to intensify the originally deviant adjustment, or tend to create disregulatory problems in children who have previously evidenced no obvious difficulties In order to explore the viability of the domain-specific model of parenting, four studies probing factors relevant to the socialization ol obesity-prone behavior are summarized. The outcomes of this research are reasonably congruent with the model and otter some promise of its general applicability to the study of the parenting factors involved in the development of deviant dispositions

Conformity as a function of age level

Abstract: An experiment was undertaken to test the hypothesis that conformity develops in 2 stages, increasing up to the adolescent period and decreasing thereafter. A 2x 4 factorial design was used involving sex and 4 age groups. 24 Ss (12 male and 12 female) were selected to compose 4 age groups. Subjects in each group were subjected to erroneous judgments in a simulated conformity situation. In agreement with the hypothesis, conformity increased to adolescence and decreased after adolescence.

Body image partially mediates the relationship between obesity and psychological distress.

Abstract: FRIEDMAN, KELLI E., SIMONA K. REICHMANN,PHILIP R. COSTANZO, AND GERARD J. MUSANTE.Body image partially mediates the relationship betweenobesity and psychological distress. Obes Res. 2002;10:33Ð 41.Objective: Body image is considered as a potential mediatorof the relationship between obesity and psychological dis-tress.Research Methods and Procedures: One hundred ten menand women in a residential weight control facility com-pleted the Multidimensional Body Self-Relations Question-naire, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Binge Eating Scale.Results: For both men and women, body-image satisfactionpartially mediated the relationship between degree of over-weight and depression/self-esteem.Discussion: Sociodemographic factors that may influencethe relationships among weight, body image, and depres-sion/self-esteem are discussed.Key words: adults, body-image dissatisfaction, depres-sion, self-esteem Introduction The nature of the relationship between obesity and psy-chological distress continues to be debated by researchersand clinicians alike. Studies of nonclinical samples of obesepersons have consistently shown that obese individuals donot differ from their non-obese counterparts in psycholog-ical symptoms, psychopathology, or personality overall (1).However, studies do indicate that subgroups within theobese population, such as obese individuals presenting forclinical weight-loss treatment and obese binge-eaters, showelevated psychopathology (2Ð 4). Individuals seeking treat-ment for weight loss have consistently demonstrated ahigher prevalence of distress than their nontreatment-seek-ing counterparts. For instance, it has been found that obesetreatment seekers show elevated levels of depression (5),binge eating (2), general psychiatric symptoms (2), andbody-image distress (6). Goldsmith et al. (5) reported that55.6% of their participants who were seeking weight-losstreatment met criteria for current or past psychiatric illness,especially major depression and dysthymia. Binge eating,which occurs in ! 30% of obese individuals seeking weight-loss treatment (7), also has been linked to elevated levels ofdepression. Marcus et al. (8) found that obese binge-eatershad substantial depressive symptomatology compared withtheir nonbinging counterparts. Additionally, Kuehnel andWadden (9) reported that individuals diagnosed with binge-eating disorder had significantly higher levels of depressionthan both nonbingers and problem eaters. This binge eating-mediated pattern of results has been confirmed in numerousadditional studies (10,11). The results of these studies sug-gest that when attempting to understand the relationshipbetween obesity and symptoms of psychological distress, itseems useful to consider mediating variables, such as treat-ment-seeking status or binge eating, to explain the presenceof psychological symptomatology.With respect to potential mediators, Friedman andBrownell (12) have proposed several additional risk factorsthat may determine which obese individuals will suffernegative psychological consequences. These include socialclass, degree of obesity, and body-image dissatisfaction. Inthis study one of the proposed risk factors, body-imagedissatisfaction, is investigated as a potential mediator of therelationship between dysphoric psychological states (e.g.,depression and low self-esteem) and obesity in a treatment-seeking population.Body image is an individualOs psychological experienceof the appearance and function of his/her body and is oneaspect of an individualOs mental representation of him/herself (13,14). Although it was long assumed that bodyimage was a unidimensional construct, recent research has

A review and reformulation of social information-processing mechanisms in children's social adjustment.

Abstract: Research on the relation between social information processing and social adjustment in childhood is reviewed and interpreted within the framework of a reformulated model of human performance and social exchange. This reformulation proves to assimilate almost all previous studies and is a useful heuristic device for organizing the field. The review suggests that overwhelming evidence supports the empirical relation between characteristic processing styles and children's social adjustment, with some aspects of processing (e.g., hostile attributional biases, intention cue detection accuracy, response access patterns, and evaluation of response outcomes) likely to be causal of behaviors that lead to social status and other aspects (e.g., perceived self-competence) likely to be responsive to peer status

Objectification Theory: Toward Understanding Women's Lived Experiences and Mental Health Risks:

Abstract: This article offers objectification theory as a framework for understanding the experiential consequences of being female in a culture that sexually objectifies the female body. Objectification the...

The illusion of control.

Abstract: While most people will agree that there is much overlap between skill and luck, a full understanding of how inextricably bound the two are has yet to be attained. In principle the distinction seems clear. In skill situations there is a causal link between behavior and outcome. Thus, success in skill tasks is controllable. Luck, on the other hand, is a fortuitous happening. Success in luck or chance activities is apparently uncontrollable. The issue of present concern is whether or not this distinction is generally recognized. The position taken here is that it is not. While people may pay lip service to the concept of chance, they behave as though chance events are subject to control. If this is correct, it is of interest to determine the variables responsible for this confusion. … Some observational support for the assertion that people treat chance events as controllable comes from sociologists Goffman (1967) and Henslin (1967). While studying gambling practices in Las Vegas, Goffman noted that dealers who experienced runs of bad luck ran the risk of losing their jobs. Henslin studied dice playing and noted that dice players clearly behave as if they were controlling the outcome of the toss. They are careful to throw the dice softly if they want low numbers or to throw hard for high numbers. They believe that effort and concentration will pay off.