Abstract
The current study examined African American children’s perceptions of a peer who was overweight or average weight and was called a name. Participants were 107 African American children who viewed same gender line-drawings of an overweight and average weight peer and selected one line drawing as being the child who was called “stupid” in a vignette. Next, participants rated their perceptions of (popularity, friendliness, etc.) for both line-drawings. The line-drawing of an overweight peer was selected as being called a name more often than the average weight one and this child was viewed as less popular. Girls provided higher sympathy and acceptance ratings of the child selected as a victim than boys. Findings provided support for the notion that children are aware that overweight children may be marginalized. Girls may be more accepting because they are more empathic or more likely to support a peer who is teased or called names. Further research will be needed to ascertain factors related to negative perceptions of overweight children to inform intervention efforts. Speaking with children about accepting others and conducting activities to improve acceptance are important roles for social workers and implications for social work practice are reviewed.
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Funding was provided by the University of Cincinnati. Thanks are extended to members of the research team, including faculty and students who worked on the larger project funded by the University of Cincinnati.
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Nabors, L., Merianos, A. & Olsen, B. Perceptions of a Child Who was Overweight or of Average Weight by African American Children. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 33, 47–53 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-015-0401-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-015-0401-9