Development of a Body Image Scale for Brazilian women

Abstract Body image is an important parameter of body satisfaction and needs to be evaluated with instruments developed and validated for a specific population. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a scale to assess body image in Brazilian women. A scale consisting of 11 silhouettes was prepared. Content validation was performed by seven experts from different health areas. To assess repeatability (two consecutive assessments) and reproducibility (reassessment after one week), an intentional sample stratified into four groups according to the characterization of Brazilian women regarding nutritional status was selected. Participants were 125 women aged 18-55 years and body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 38.6 kg/m2. The Kappa coefficient (k) was used to assess repeatability and reproducibility, considering the isolated responses of the current body, ideal body and the difference between them, assumed as satisfactory when k≥0.6. For all trials, α=0.05. During the content validation phase, the instrument developed was changed following the evaluators’ suggestions and it was considered very suitable by six of seven evaluators. The Kappa coefficient was good in isolated issues and in the difference between them in both repeatability and reproducibility. The Body Image Scale was considered a valid content, with good repeatability and reproducibility. Considering the instrument as low cost and of rapid implementation/evaluation, it may be used to evaluate the body image of Brazilian women with BMI between 18.5 and 38.6 kg/m2, in different contexts.

摘要：身体意象（Body image）是影响身体满意度的重要参数，需采用针对特定人群开发并经过效度验证的测评工具进行评估。本研究旨在开发并验证一款用于评估巴西女性身体意象的量表。研究编制了一套包含11张人体轮廓图的量表。由来自不同健康领域的7名专家开展内容效度检验。为评估重测信度（两次连续评估）与复现信度（一周后再次评估），研究按照巴西女性的营养状况特征进行分层，采用立意抽样法选取受试者。最终纳入125名年龄介于18~55岁、身体质量指数（Body Mass Index，BMI）介于18.5~38.6 kg/m²的女性受试者。采用Kappa系数（k）评估重测信度与复现信度，分别针对当前身体意象、理想身体意象以及二者差值的独立作答结果进行分析，当k≥0.6时判定信度达标。所有检验均采用α=0.05的显著性水平。在内容效度检验阶段，研究团队根据评估者的建议对所编制的量表进行了调整，7名评估者中有6名认为该量表非常适用。在重测信度与复现信度检验中，各独立条目及条目差值的Kappa系数均表现良好。综上，该身体意象量表具备良好的内容效度、重测信度与复现信度。鉴于该量表成本低廉且测评便捷，可在不同场景下用于评估BMI介于18.5~38.6 kg/m²的巴西女性的身体意象。