Associations of overweight, perceptions of overweight, and dating violence victimization among US youth

BACKGROUND: Weight perceptions and misperceptions may be more important than actual weight status for dating violence victimization (DVV). This study examines the association of three weight indices (weight status, perceived weight, weight misperception) with DVV.

METHODS: The 2010 baseline survey of the 7-year longitudinal Next Generation Health Study used a three-stage stratified clustered sampling (classes as sampling unit) to select a nationally representative sample of 10th-graders who self-reported DVV and weight perception. Height/weight were measured at school by trained research assistants. Bivariate analyses were stratified by gender and controlled for the complex sampling design. Multinomial logistic regressions are fitted to examine possible individual and contextual modifiers of the association of weight indices and DVV (n=2,511).

RESULTS: In bivariate analyses, the association of weight and DVV significantly differed by gender. Among boys, no associations were observed. Among girls, the prevalence of DVV was significantly higher (1) among those who perceived themselves as “too fat” (50.6%) compared to those who perceived themselves “about right” (33.5%;p<0.01) ; and (2) among those who misperceived themselves as overweight (61.7%) compared to those with accurate weight perceptions (40.9%;p<0.01) Among girls who were involved in DVV, those with overweight perceptions/misperceptions were more likely than those with no overweight perceptions/misperceptions to be victims of simultaneous physical and psychological DVV. Girls with actual overweight/obesity were less likely to experience DVV.

CONCLUSION: Girls who perceive themselves (accurately or not) to be overweight may be at an increased risk of DVV. Improving girls' weight perceptions may have implications for DVV prevention.