THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE AGE AT ONSET OF SELF-PERCEIVED OBESITY AND PERSONAL ORIENTATION

This study is based on Bruch's psychological theory of obesity. To test Bruch's thesis that the age at onset of obesity is related to psychological functioning, this study investigates the relationship between the age at onset of self-perceived obesity and personal orientation (measured by the Personal Orientation Inventory). Partial correlation is the statistical procedure employed in this portion of the study.;A significant relationship is found between the Self-Acceptance scale of the POI and the age at onset of self-perceived obesity among all obese subjects, R (68) = 2.566, p < .05. Also among the total sample of obese subjects, a significant relationship is found between the Capacity for Intimate Contact scale of the POI and the age at onset of self-perceived obesity, R (68) = .2041, p < .05. These positive correlational relationships are determined to exist while treatment group membership, percentage of weight lost, and subjects' perception of problem severity are held constant. In addition, a significant relationship is found between the Self-Acceptance scale of the POI and the age at onset of self-perceived obesity among obese therapy clients while percentage of weight lost and subjects' perception of problem severity are held constant, R (18) = .4564, p < .05.;The findings of this study suggest that the older these subjects are when they perceive themselves to become obese, the more they are able to accept their weaknesses and form intimate relationships with others. These findings also suggest that gastric stapling patients, obese therapy clients, and obese persons receiving no treatment are not unique subgroups in the area of personal orientation.;To test the belief that obesity is not a homogeneous disorder, differences in the relationship between the age at onset of obesity and personal orientation are investigated among three groups of obese persons (24 gastric stapling patients, 22 obese therapy clients, and 28 obese persons receiving no treatment). A test for differences between the partial correlation coefficients of the three groups is utilized in this portion of the study.