title: The impact of gender on the assessment of body checking behavior.
abstract: Body checking includes any behavior aimed at global or specific evaluations of appearance characteristics. Men and women are believed to express these behaviors differently, possibly reflecting different socialization. However, there has been no empirical test of the impact of gender on body checking. A total of 1024 male and female college students completed two measures of body checking, the Body Checking Questionnaire and the Male Body Checking Questionnaire. Using multiple group confirmatory factor analysis, differential item functioning (DIF) was explored in a composite of these measures. Two global latent factors were identified (female and male body checking severity), and there were expected gender differences in these factors even after controlling for DIF. Ten items were found to be unbiased by gender and provide a suitable brief measure of body checking for mixed gender research. Practical applications for body checking assessment and theoretical implications are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Eating and Weight Disorders Program, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029, USA.
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Alfano
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hildebrandt
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bannon
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: Kate E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Walton
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D057215:Body Dysmorphic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D053580:Muscle Strength; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013008:Somatotypes; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult