Fear of appearance discrimination and its influence on well-being across cultures

Abstract

Lookism encompasses discrimination based on a person's physical appearance. In a society where lookism is prevalent, the question arises concerning the impact of the fear of lookism on one's well-being. To address this issue, we assessed the fear of anticipated appearance discrimination by constructing a new Fear of Lookism Scale (FLS). By testing 400 Japanese participants, we developed a three-factor seven-item scale and confirmed its convergent validity by establishing significantly positive correlations among its subscales (exclusion/devaluation, romantic rejection and insult) and related measures (physical appearance perfectionism and social appearance anxiety) in Study 1. In Study 2a, we gathered data from 312 Japanese participants to assess the scale's test–retest reliability. In Study 2b, combining data from 401 American participants with data from Study 2a, we verified FLS measurement invariance in the United States and Japan. Japanese participants scored higher on the FLS than Americans, particularly for exclusion/devaluation and insult. Across cultures, romantic rejection and insult were positively associated with physical appearance perfectionism, which, in turn, decreased subjective happiness through impacting self-esteem (or increased loneliness) and increased subjective happiness through impacting self-esteem (or decreased loneliness) respectively.