title: Perceived Physical Appearance: Assessing Measurement Equivalence in Black, Latino, and White Adolescents.
abstract: This aim of this study was to examine whether the construct of physical appearance perception differed among the three largest racial/ethnic groups in the United States using an adolescent sample.
  
  
  
  Black (46%), Latino (31%), and White (23%) adolescents in Grade 10 from the Healthy Passages study ( N  = 4,005) completed the Harter's Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents-Physical Appearance Scale (SPPA-PA) as a measure of physical appearance perception.
  
  
  
  Overall, Black adolescents had a more positive self-perception of their physical appearance than Latino and White adolescents. However, further analysis using measurement invariance testing revealed that the construct of physical appearance perception, as measured by SPPA-PA, was not comparable across the three racial/ethnic groups in both males and females.
  
  
  
  These results suggest that observed differences may not reflect true differences in perceptions of physical appearance. Measures that are equivalent across racial/ethnic groups should be developed to ensure more precise measurement and understanding.
authors.affiliation: University of California, Merced, Lake Road, USA.
authors.forename: Anna E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Epperson
authors.affiliation: University of California, Merced, Lake Road, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Depaoli
authors.affiliation: University of California, Merced, Lake Road, USA.
authors.forename: Anna V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: University of California, Merced, Lake Road, USA.
authors.forename: Jan L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wallander
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California, USA.
authors.forename: Marc N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.affiliation: University of Texas School of Public Health and Prevention Research, Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cuccaro
authors.affiliation: University of Texas School of Public Health and Prevention Research, Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tortolero Emery
authors.affiliation: Boston Children's Hospital and Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schuster
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D000067029:Physical Appearance, Body; D012737:Sex Factors; D014481:United States; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: adolescent; obesity; race/ethnicity; statistical applications