Bystander Intervention in Fat Talk Prevention: A Psychometric Evaluation

Background: Fat talk, defined as self-disparaging commentary about one's weight or shape, occurs frequently within female peer social groups. Given the social nature of fat talk, opportunities exist for peers to intervene. Approaches geared towards engaging bystanders have been utilized within multiple health fields. Thus, bystander intervention strategies may be adapted for eating disorders prevention, particularly regarding fat talk. This research presents the psychometric properties of a new scale created to assess bystander attitudes and intentions for a pilot evaluation of Fat Talk Free Week (FTFW), a national social media campaign. This scale included two subscales, assessing bystanders' comfort and confidence intervening in a fat talk situation. Methods: Two universities participated in an evaluation of FTFW in fall 2011. Students completed a 15-item fat talk bystander scale at baseline via an online pre-test survey. Data were analyzed using Stata, and the reliability and validity of the bystander scale were assessed. Results: Of the 292 eligible participants in our sample population, 165 (56.5%) completed the survey. Reliability of the bystander scale was moderate to high: Cronbach's alphas of .62 and .86 for bystander comfort and confidence subscales, respectively. Content validity was established using prior literature, and construct validity for the bystander comfort section neared significance when compared to a measure of thin-deal internalization (r=-0.15, p=.058). Discussion: The Fat Talk Bystander Scale is an innovative contribution to the field. Future research should include a comparison scale to further assess validity.