title: Development and Validation of the Body-Focused Shame and Guilt Scale.
abstract: Body shame is described as central in clinical literature on body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). However, empirical investigations of body shame within BDD are rare. One potential reason for the scarcity of such research may be that existing measures of body shame focus on eating and weight-based content. Within BDD, however, body shame likely focuses more broadly on shame felt in response to perceived appearance flaws in one's body parts. We describe the development and validation of the Body-Focused Shame and Guilt Scale (BF-SGS), a measure of BDD-relevant body shame, across two studies: a two time-point study of undergraduates, and a follow-up study in two Internet-recruited clinical samples (BDD, obsessive compulsive disorder) and healthy controls. Across both studies, the BF-SGS shame subscale demonstrated strong reliability and construct validity, with Study 2 providing initial clinical norms.
authors.affiliation: George Mason University, Department of Psychology, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030-4444 ; Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA 02114.
authors.forename: Hilary
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Weingarden
authors.affiliation: George Mason University, Department of Psychology, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030-4444.
authors.forename: Keith D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Renshaw
authors.affiliation: George Mason University, Department of Psychology, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030-4444.
authors.forename: June P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Tangney
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA 02114.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wilhelm
keywords: body dysmorphic disorder; body shame; measurement; shame