Bullying and Social Support as Predictors of Gelotophobia Among a Sample of Obese Women

Al-Qutqat, Lobna Mohamed Ali

doi:10.21608/jsrep.2025.426350

Bullying and Social Support as Predictors of Gelotophobia Among a Sample of Obese Women

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Lobna Mohamed Ali Al-Qutqat

Lecturer of Psychology, Faculty of Human Studies – Al-Azhar University, Dakahlia.

10.21608/jsrep.2025.426350

Abstract

The present study aims to examine the relationship between gelotophobia (fear of ridicule) and both bullying and social support among a sample of obese women. It further seeks to determine the extent to which bullying and social support can predict gelotophobia among women attending obesity treatment centers. Additionally, the study explores differences in gelotophobia levels based on marital status (married vs. single) and employment status (employed vs. unemployed).The primary research sample consisted of 325 Obese Women, aged between 25 and 40 years, with a mean age of 30.34 years and a standard deviation of 4.89. The study employed the Gelotophobia Scale and the Bullying Scale (both developed by the researcher), as well as the Social Support Scale (developed by Abu Armila, 2016).
The results revealed a statistically significant positive correlation between gelotophobia and bullying among the study sample, while a statistically significant negative correlation was found between gelotophobia and social support. Moreover, the findings indicated that gelotophobia can be predicted based on bullying and social support levels. The study also identified statistically significant differences in gelotophobia based on marital status, with single women exhibiting higher levels of gelotophobia than married women. Additionally, statistically significant differences were observed based on employment status, with employed women displaying higher levels of gelotophobia than unemployed women.The results were interpreted in light of previous research findings, and several recommendations and suggestions were proposed.

Keywords

References

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