Girls’ Self‑Esteem and its Association with Self‑Stigma toward Obesity

Abstract

Background: Obesity among girls can lead to physical, psychological, or social problems. Enhancing self‑esteem and reducing self‑stigma toward obesity can play a crucial role in girls’ health. This study aims to assess girls’ self‑esteem and its association with self‑stigma toward obesity. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross‑sectional design was used to meet the study’s objective. A convenience sampling method was used to gather the sample from 24 middle and high schools in five cities across Iraq from (January 2023 to March 2023). A total of 1326 girls participated in the study. Weight Self‑Stigma Questionnaire and Rosenberg Self‑Esteem Scale were used to assess self‑stigma and self‑esteem regarding obesity. Pearson’s rho (r) and one‑way ANOVA were used to analyze the data by SPSS version 26. Results: In total, 1200 girls scored on weight self‑stigma and self‑esteem, and the means (SD) were 29.28 (±7.06) and 30.47 (4.43), respectively. The results revealed that there was a significant negative correlation between weight self‑stigma and self‑esteem (r = ‑.404, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Iraqi girls with higher obesity‑related stigma have lower self‑esteem. Hence, as obesity can affect girls’ body image, increasing girls’ self‑esteem can reduce their weight self‑stigma.