Measurement invariance of body image measures by age, gender, sexual orientation, race, weight status, and age: The U.S. Body Project I.

Despite growing interest in comparing body image experiences across diverse groups, limited work has examined whether body image measures operate similarly across different populations, raising important questions about the appropriateness of comparing scale means across demographic groups. This study employed measurement invariance testing to evaluate whether such comparisons are appropriate with existing body image measures. Specifically, multi-group confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using a community sample of 11,620 men and women to test increasing levels of invariance (configural, metric, scalar) across five key demographic variables (age group, gender, sexual orientation, race, weight status) for five commonly used body image measures (the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4, the Body Surveillance subscale of the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale, the Appearance Evaluation and Overweight Preoccupation subscales of the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire, and the Body Image Quality of Life Inventory). Results provided evidence of scalar (i.e., strong) invariance for all five measures across age, gender, sexual orientation, race, and weight status groups, indicating that the latent factors captured by these measures have the same meaning across demographic groups. Findings therefore support the comparison of scale/subscale means across multiple demographic groups for these body image measures.

Racial identity differences in pathways from sociocultural and objectification constructs to body satisfaction: The U.S. Body Project I.

Racial minority men and women face a wide variety of appearance-related pressures, including ones connected to their cultural backgrounds and phenotypic features associated with their identity. These body image concerns exist within a larger context, wherein racial minorities face pressures from multiple cultures or subcultures simultaneously to achieve unrealistic appearance ideals. However, limited research has investigated racial differences in the relationships between theorized sociocultural risk factors and body image in large samples. This study tests pathways from an integrated sociocultural model drawing on objectification theory and the tripartite influence model to three key body image outcomes: appearance evaluation, body image quality of life, and face image satisfaction. These pathways were tested using multigroup structural equation modeling in a national sample of White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian men and women (ns = 205-4797 per group). Although many hypothesized associations were similar in strength across groups, race moderated some of the pathways between sociocultural pressures (media, peer, family), internalization of appearance ideals (thin-ideal, muscular/athletic), appearance surveillance, and body image outcomes. Findings support the likely role of both shared and specific risk factors for body image outcomes, suggesting avenues for tailoring adapted interventions in order to target culturally-salient risk factors.

You can buy a child a curvy Barbie doll, but you can't make her like it: Young girls' beliefs about Barbie dolls with diverse shapes and sizes.

This study utilized Mattel's new line of Fashionista Barbie dolls to examine attitudes about body shape and size in a sample of young girls. A total of 84 girls, 3-10 years of age, were asked to assign positive or negative traits to Barbie dolls which varied in size and shape (original, tall, petite, and curvy). Participants also answered questions about their preferences for the dolls and completed measures of body dissatisfaction. Results generally demonstrated greater negative attitudes towards the curvy Barbie doll and more positive attitudes towards dolls with a thinner body size/shape (i.e., original, tall, and petite dolls). Girls identified the curvy Barbie as the doll they least wanted to play with. Additionally, girls with higher levels of body dissatisfaction demonstrated less negative attitudes towards the original doll. Overall, findings demonstrate a preference for thin bodies and aversion towards larger bodies among young girls. Further, findings suggest that the simple availability of body-diverse dolls may not be a powerful enough intervention to overcome harmful weight attitudes, and highlight the importance of continued efforts to encourage exposure to and acceptance of diverse body shapes and sizes in young children.

From fad to FAD: A theoretical formulation and proposed name change for "drunkorexia" to food and alcohol disturbance (FAD).

"Drunkorexia" is a term that has been used to describe behaviors such as restricting food intake in anticipation of alcohol consumption to offset total caloric intake, and/or to enhance the intoxicating effect of alcohol consumption. Scattered studies over the past few years have indicated the potential problematic nature of the intersection of these behaviors, yet there remain significant gaps in the operationalization of the construct, limiting research progress. In this article, we articulate limitations of the current research, including problems with the definition of the construct and a lack of theoretical guidance. We suggest a broader and more accurate phrase to guide future work with this phenomenon: Food and alcohol disturbance (FAD). Additionally, we suggest adapting Fairburn's transdiagnostic theoretical model for FAD. It is hoped these changes might provide a roadmap for future work in this area on risk factors and adaptations of current preventive and treatment approaches to focus on this emerging form of eating disturbance.

Development and validation of the sociocultural attitudes towards appearance questionnaire-4-revised (SATAQ-4R).

OBJECTIVE: The Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire-4 (SATAQ-4) is a measure of internalization of appearance ideals (i.e., personal acceptance of societal ideals) and appearance pressures (i.e., pressures to achieve the societal ideal). The current study sought to address limitations of the scale in order to increase precision in the measurement of muscular ideal internalization, include an assessment of one's desire for attractiveness, and broaden the measurement of appearance-related pressures. METHOD: The factor structure, reliability and construct validity of the SATAQ-4-Revised were examined among college women (N = 1,114) in Study 1, adolescent girls (N = 275) in Study 2, and college men (N = 290) in Study 3. RESULTS: Factor analysis among college women indicated a 7-factor 31-item scale, labeled the SATAQ-4R-Female: (1) Internalization: Thin/Low Body Fat, (2) Internalization: Muscular, (3) Internalization: General Attractiveness, (4) Pressures: Family, (5) Pressures: Media, (6) Pressures: Peers, and (7) Pressures: Significant Others. SATAQ-4R-Female subscales demonstrated good reliability and construct validity among college women. Examination of the SATAQ-4R-Female among adolescent girls suggested a six-factor scale in which peer and significant others items comprised a single subscale. The scale demonstrated good reliability and construct validity in adolescent girls. Examination of the SATAQ-4R among men produced a 28-item scale with seven factors paralleling the factors identified among college women. This scale, labeled the SATAQ-4R-Male, demonstrated good reliability and construct validity. DISCUSSION: Results support the reliability and validity of SATAQ-4R-Female in college women and adolescent girls, and the SATAQ-4R-Male in college men. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.(Int J Eat Disord 2017; 50:104-117).