EXAMINATION OF PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY WITHIN A YEAR OF BARIATRIC SURGERY

Objective: While bariatric surgery is an established intervention for severe obesity, its impact on mental health outcomes remains unclear, with mixed findings across existing literature. This study examined the extent to which psychosocial and demographic factors, specifically type of bariatric surgery, history of mental health conditions, internalized weight stigma, food insecurity, quality of life, and interpersonal relationships explained depression and anxiety among individuals who have undergone bariatric surgery within the previous 6 to 12 months. Methods: A total of 147 adults who received bariatric surgery participated in this cross-sectional correlational study. Participants were recruited via social media electronic networks utilizing convenience and snowball sampling methods. In addition, a local bariatric center disseminated a study announcement to professional networks for further participant recruitment. Participants completed an online, self-administered Qualtrics survey which included the following validated measures: GAD-7 (anxiety), PHQ-9 (depression), WBIS-M (weight stigma), AQoL-6D (quality of life), HFIAS (food insecurity) and individual questions assessing interpersonal relationship satisfaction, and surgical satisfaction. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to test the explanatory power of psychosocial variables on depression (hypothesis 1) and anxiety (hypothesis 2) scores, while controlling demographic covariates. Results: Results demonstrated that increases in interpersonal relationship satisfaction and Quality of Life (QoL) significantly explained decreases in both depression and anxiety. Post hoc analyses were conducted to determine which subscales of Quality of Life were driving the explanatory power of these two mental health outcomes. The mental health subscale was a significant explanator of both outcomes, and independence was a significant explanator of depression. Internalized weight stigma was a significant explanator of anxiety. The remaining subscales of Quality of Life did not show significant relationships with either depression or anxiety. Subsequent exploratory analysis examined differences in anxiety and depression by type of bariatric surgery and geographic location; however, no significant differences were found in this study sample. Conclusion: This study contributes to the emerging body of research that explores and highlights the impact of bariatric surgery across varying domains of health. Findings underscore the significance of healthy interpersonal relationships, positive perception of an individual’s quality of life, and impact of internalized weight stigma post bariatric surgery. These findings also strengthen the need for standardized psychological assessment, ongoing psychoeducation and interdisciplinary collaboration to support mental health outcomes among bariatric surgery recipients.

Author dc:creator

• Clark, Adam

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Solomon, Phyllis L

• Social Work

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/62550

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.upenn.edu:20.500.14332/62550