title: Beliefs about penis size: validation of a scale for men ashamed about their penis size.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  No measures are available for understanding beliefs in men who experience shame about the perceived size of their penis. Such a measure might be helpful for treatment planning, and measuring outcome after any psychological or physical intervention.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our aim was to validate a newly developed measure called the Beliefs about Penis Size Scale (BAPS).
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred seventy-three male participants completed a new questionnaire consisting of 18 items to be validated and developed into the BAPS, as well as various other standardized measures. A urologist also measured actual penis size.
  
  
  METHODS
  The BAPS was validated against six psychosexual self-report questionnaires as well as penile size measurements.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Exploratory factor analysis reduced the number of items in the BAPS from 18 to 10, which was best explained by one factor. The 10-item BAPS had good internal consistency and correlated significantly with measures of depression, anxiety, body image quality of life, social anxiety, erectile function, overall satisfaction, and the importance attached to penis size. The BAPS was not found to correlate with actual penis size. It was able to discriminate between those who had concerns or were dissatisfied about their penis size and those who were not.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first study to develop a scale for measurement of beliefs about penis size. It may be used as part of an assessment for men who experience shame about the perceived size of their penis and as an outcome measure after treatment. The BAPS measures various manifestations of masculinity and shame about their perceived penis size including internal self-evaluative beliefs; negative evaluation by others; anticipated consequences of a perceived small penis, and extreme self-consciousness.
authors.affiliation: South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and The Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Veale
authors.forename: Ertimiss
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eshkevari
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Read
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miles
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Troglia
authors.forename: Rachael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Lina Maria Carmona
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Echeverria
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fiorito
authors.forename: Kevan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wylie
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Muir
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001828:Body Image; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D018594:Human Body; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D010410:Penile Erection / Q000523:psychology; D010413:Penis / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012858:Size Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Assessment; Body Image; Penile Anatomy; Penis Size Shame; Small Penis Syndrome