Ehmann Marny M, Crane Nicole T, Chabria Reena S, Arigo Danielle, Butryn Meghan L
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Center for Weight, Eating and Lifestyle Sciences (WELL Center), Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Department of Psychology, Rowan University, 201 Mullica Hill Rd, Robinson Hall, Glassboro, NJ, 08028, USA.
J Behav Med. 2025 Aug 8. doi: 10.1007/s10865-025-00597-4.
Romantic partner undermining is a type of negative social influence that has the potential to make weight loss more challenging and consists of two components: (1) undermining behaviors, or overt romantic partner behaviors including criticism/complaint of weight control or interference behaviors (e.g., offering up high calorie foods), and (2) undermining attitudes, including negative beliefs that a romantic partner has about their significant other's weight loss attempts. The present study was the first to the authors' knowledge to investigate romantic partner undermining attitudes and behaviors reported by participants enrolled in in a behavioral weight loss (BWL) intervention, a first line treatment for weight loss. The study also examined whether partner undermining attitudes and behaviors differed by relationship quality and between those who did and did not choose their romantic partner to serve in a support role in the intervention. Participants (N = 128) enrolled in a group-based BWL intervention reported on perceived romantic partner undermining attitudes and behaviors at baseline and 3 months (end of the intensive period of BWL intervention). Results showed that participants perceived minimal romantic partner undermining at baseline (attitudes M = 2.2 ± 0.7, behaviors M = 2.3 ± 1.2) and 3 months (attitudes M = 2.0 ± 0.6, behaviors M = 1.9 ± 1.1). However, participants reported a significant reduction in total undermining attitudes (M change = - 0.2 points) and behaviors (M change = - 0.4 points) from baseline to 3 months (ps <.05), highlighting the potential of group-based BWL interventions to mitigate romantic partner undermining without explicit content focused on undermining. Future research should examine romantic partner undermining across time in varying weight control and relationship conditions and measure undermining at the daily or weekly level to reduce recall bias and improve ecological validity.
浪漫伴侣的破坏行为是一种负面的社会影响，它有可能使减肥变得更具挑战性，它由两个部分组成：（1）破坏行为，即浪漫伴侣明显的行为，包括对体重控制的批评/抱怨或干扰行为（例如，提供高热量食物），以及（2）破坏态度，包括浪漫伴侣对其重要他人减肥尝试的负面信念。据作者所知，本研究首次调查了参加行为减肥（BWL）干预（减肥的一线治疗方法）的参与者报告的浪漫伴侣破坏态度和行为。该研究还考察了伴侣的破坏态度和行为在关系质量方面以及在选择和未选择其浪漫伴侣在干预中担任支持角色的人之间是否存在差异。参加基于小组的BWL干预的参与者（N = 128）在基线和3个月（BWL干预强化期结束时）报告了他们所感知的浪漫伴侣破坏态度和行为。结果显示，参与者在基线时（态度M = 2.2±0.7，行为M = 2.3±1.2）和3个月时（态度M = 2.0±0.6，行为M = 1.9±1.1）所感知的浪漫伴侣破坏行为较少。然而，参与者报告从基线到3个月，总的破坏态度（M变化=-0.2分）和行为（M变化=-0.4分）有显著减少（p<0.05），这突出了基于小组的BWL干预在不明确关注破坏行为的情况下减轻浪漫伴侣破坏行为的潜力。未来的研究应该在不同的体重控制和关系条件下，跨时间考察浪漫伴侣的破坏行为，并在每日或每周的水平上测量破坏行为，以减少回忆偏差并提高生态效度。
