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Abstract
The CDC (2015) and WHO (2014) have documented an increase in the number of fat people on earth in recent decades. This increase in fat people is being met with a strong backlash of anti-fat biases, or fatphobia (Andreyeva, Puhl, & Brownell, 2008; Puhl &; Brownell, 2001; Roehling, Roehling, & Pichler, 2006). Fatphobia is prevalent in most aspects of society, especially among other fat people who have internalized these anti-fat prejudices (Durso & Latner, 2008; Hilbert, Braehler, Haeuser, & Zenger 2014; Puhl, Moss-Racusin, & Schwartz, 2007). Professional counselors should expect an increase in fat clientele correlating to an increase in the global obesity rate; this study gathered information on the way counselors-in-training assess fat clients. This study explores the relationship between client body size and Major Depressive Disorder diagnosis assigned to them by counselor education students. Utilizing a diagnostic questionnaire, Fat Phobia Scale-Short Form (FPS-SF; Bacon, Scheltema, & Robinson, 2001) and Weight Bias Internalization Scale (WBIS; Durso & Latner, 2008), the results provide professional counselors, clinical supervisors, and counselor educators with insight into how the next generation of counselors conceptualizes fat clients. A one-way ANOVA and ANCOVA were conducted to analyze the results of the responses. This sample (N = 113) significantly differed in their diagnoses assigned to obese clients by assigning them more severe MDD diagnosis than thin or overweight clients. Study limitations and implications are discussed.
