Weight satisfaction among black and white couples: the role of perceptions.

The aim of the present study was to determine whether a woman's weight satisfaction was influenced by how satisfied she perceived her mate was with her weight, whether the perceptions were accurate, and whether race influenced the perceptions or their accuracy. Black and White couples answered questions about weight satisfaction and provided demographic information. For all participants, perceiving the mate to be more satisfied produced greater weight satisfaction; White women's perceptions about their mates were least accurate whereas those for Black women were most accurate. The study provided evidence that White women's inaccurate beliefs about their mates may lead to greater weight dissatisfaction.