Assessing Positive Body Image, Body Satisfaction, Weight Bias, and Appearance Comparison in Emerging Adults: A Cross-Validation Study across Eight Countries
Open accessAbstract
Positive body image refers to individuals' ability to conceptualize their bodies with love, respect, and appreciation. The study of positive body image is relatively new, and instruments used to investigate this multi-faceted construct have received limited use in non-English speaking countries. Thus, the aim of this investigation is to consider four measures that are associated with positive body image across eight different countries. Participants (n = 6272) completed the Body Appreciation Scale-2, the Body Areas Satisfaction Scale, the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale, and the Weight Bias Internalization Scale. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses (MG-CFAs) and item-response theory (IRT) models were used to examine the measurement invariance of these surveys. Our results generally suggest that positive body image, weight bias, and appearance comparison can be assessed using brief assessments and that these four instruments can be used in different countries, but care should be taken to consider individuals' gender, BMI, and socio-economic position.
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This linkage fosters a vicious cycle of negative body image and psychological distress, where failure to achieve idealized standards perpetuates inadequacy and diminishes mental health.
“This linkage fosters a vicious cycle of negative body image and psychological distress, where the failure to achieve idealized standards perpetuates feelings of inadequacy and further diminishes mental health [179].”
From Body Perceptions and Psychological Well-Being: A Review of the Impact of Social Media and Physical Measurements on Self-Esteem and Mental Health with a Focus on Body Image Satisfaction and Its Relationship with Cultural and Gender Factors (2024) · cites this paper as [179]
Section 1.1 (page not provided) says that weight bias and appearance comparison may hinder positive body image, and that people with low body appreciation may emphasize discrepancies from beauty ideals. The paper does not establish a vicious cycle in which failure to meet those ideals causes feelings of inadequacy and worsening mental health. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredEffort to align appearance with societal expectations can lead to constant dissatisfaction, linking self-worth to physical appearance.
“The effort to align one’s appearance with societal expectations can lead to a constant state of dissatisfaction, where one’s self-worth becomes inextricably linked to physical appearance.”
From Body Perceptions and Psychological Well-Being: A Review of the Impact of Social Media and Physical Measurements on Self-Esteem and Mental Health with a Focus on Body Image Satisfaction and Its Relationship with Cultural and Gender Factors (2024) · cites this paper as [179]
Section 1.1 (page unavailable) links perceived non-acceptance and weight stigma to lower body appreciation, and says appearance comparison may hinder positive body image. Section 4.5 (page unavailable) quotes a scale item about judging personal value by weight. Neither passage establishes that trying to meet societal appearance expectations causes constant dissatisfaction or makes self-worth generally dependent on appearance. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredNavigating cultural and gender norms can cause significant stress, contributing to low self-esteem and inadequacy.
“Navigating these cultural and gender norms can be a source of significant stress, contributing to feelings of low self-esteem and inadequacy.”
From Body Perceptions and Psychological Well-Being: A Review of the Impact of Social Media and Physical Measurements on Self-Esteem and Mental Health with a Focus on Body Image Satisfaction and Its Relationship with Cultural and Gender Factors (2024) · cites this paper as [179]
Section 1.1 links perceived non-acceptance, weight stigma, and beauty ideals to lower body appreciation, while section 4.3 reports lower body satisfaction among women and participants with higher BMIs. These passages support a narrower point about body image, but they do not establish that navigating cultural and gender norms causes significant stress or feelings of low self-esteem and inadequacy; searches for those outcomes found no such finding. (LLM, conf=0.76)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
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- Authors
- Aimé, A., Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M., Dion, J., Markey, C. H., Strodl, E., McCabe, M., Mellor, D., Granero Gallegos, A., Pietrabissa, G., Alcaraz-Ibánez, M., Bégin, C., Blackburn, M.-È., Caltabiano, M., Castelnuovo, G., Gullo, S., Hayami-Chisuwa, N., He, Q., Lo Coco, G., Manzonie, G. M., Probst, M., Rodgers, R. F., Sicilia, A., & Maïano, C.
- Affiliations
- Université du Québec en Outaouais (CA)
- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (CA)
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
- Queensland University of Technology (AU)
- Swinburne University of Technology (AU)
- Deakin University (AU)
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (IT)
- Université Laval (CA)
- Cégep de Jonquière (CA)
- James Cook University (AU)
- University of Palermo (IT)
- KU Leuven (BE)
- Northeastern University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Aimé, Annie
- ORCID
- Venue
- Body Image
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-12
- Volume
- 35
- Pages
- 320-332
- ISSN
- 1740-1445 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3098124014
- Cited by
- 58
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 2.10
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Body Image (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ResearchOnline - JCU (James Cook University) (submittedVersion)
- Lirias (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- IRIS eCampus Telematic University (Università degli Studi eCampus) (submittedVersion)
- Nova Science Publishers (Nova Science Publishers, Inc.) (submittedVersion)
- Swinburne figshare (Swinburne University of Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Obesity and Health Practices
- Keywords
- positive body image, body satisfaction, weight bias internalization, appearance comparison, emerging adults, cross-cultural invariance, Body Appreciation Scale-2, gender differences, body mass index, socioeconomic position
- MeSH terms
- Physical Appearance, Body, Adolescent, Adult, Body Image, Body Weight, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Factor Analysis, Statistical, Female, Humans, Male, Personal Satisfaction, Psychometrics, Surveys and Questionnaires, Reproducibility of Results, Young Adult
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