Measuring Social Processes in Weight Management: The Weight-Related Interactions Scale (WRIS)
Abstract Purpose This study sought to develop a psychometrically-sound measure to assess effective and ineffective forms of input from others for managing one’s weight, namely, the Weight-Related Interactions Scale (WRIS). Methods Participants (n = 736) were adults in the overweight/obese weight range who completed the WRIS and measures of weight-specific social support, emotional eating, weight-related stigma, eating-specific self-efficacy, and social desirability. Results Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the WRIS supported a three-factor solution of ‘Criticism’, ‘Minimization’, and ‘Collaboration’ as forms of weight-related input from others. Support was found for the reliability and the concurrent, convergent, and divergent validity of the WRIS. Conclusions The WRIS is a promising new instrument for comprehensively assessing the input of others in relation to managing one’s weight, eating, and physical activity. Level of evidence: Level III. Evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case-control analytic studies.