title: An evaluation of equivalence in body dissatisfaction measurement across cultures.
abstract: We evaluated gender-based and cross-cultural equivalence of the Body Dissatisfaction Scale of the Body Change Inventory in a sample of 4,005 adolescents from 7 cultures that represent diverse body image ideals and response styles. Results of multigroup confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated equivalence of the scale across gender but not across cultures. Follow-up analyses identified small but significant cross-cultural differences in response styles (specifically, acquiescence and middle response option endorsement) as the source of this noninvariance. We recommend use of this scale for gender-based comparisons but caution that researchers should evaluate the presence of response biases before making substantive conclusions about cross-cultural differences in body dissatisfaction.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia. matthewf@deakin.edu.au
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fuller-Tyszkiewicz
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Skouteris
authors.forename: Marita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McCabe
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mussap
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mellor
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ricciardelli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015982:Bias; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*