The scale development process is critical to building knowledge in human and social sciences. The present paper aimed (a) to provide a systematic review of the published literature regarding current practices of the scale development process, (b) to assess the main limitations reported by the authors in these processes, and (c) to provide a set of recommendations for best practices in future scale development research. Papers were selected in September 2015, with the search terms "scale development" and "limitations" from three databases: Scopus, PsycINFO, and Web of Science, with no time restriction. We evaluated 105 studies published between 1976 and 2015. The analysis considered the three basic steps in scale development: item generation, theoretical analysis, and psychometric analysis. The study identified ten main types of limitation in these practices reported in the literature: sample characteristic limitations, methodological limitations, psychometric limitations, qualitative research limitations, missing data, social desirability bias, item limitations, brevity of the scale, difficulty controlling all variables, and lack of manual instructions. Considering these results, various studies analyzed in this review clearly identified methodological weaknesses in the scale development process (e.g., smaller sample sizes in psychometric analysis), but only a few researchers recognized and recorded these limitations. We hope that a systematic knowledge of the difficulties usually reported in scale development will help future researchers to recognize their own limitations and especially to make the most appropriate choices among different conceptions and methodological strategies.

A insatisfação corporal (IC) é considerada sintoma de primeira ordem no desencadeamento dos transtornos alimentares (TAs). O ambiente atlético tem fatores peculiares que parecem potencializar o risco do surgimento de TAs nos atletas. O objetivo do presente estudo foi comparar a IC e o comportamento alimentar inadequado (CAI) entre atletas adolescentes de diversas modalidades esportivas e diferentes níveis competitivos, utilizando o índice de massa corporal (IMC), o percentual de gordura e a idade como covariáveis. A amostra do estudo foi constituída por 580 atletas de diversas modalidades, de ambos os sexos, com idades entre 10 e 19 anos. Utilizou-se o BSQ e o EAT-26 para mensurar a IC e o CAI, respectivamente. Peso e estatura foram aferidos para calcular-se o IMC. A gordura relativa foi estimada aferindo-se as dobras cutâneas triciptal e subescapular. Foi conduzida análise univariada de covariância (ANCOVA) para comparar IC e CAI entre níveis competitivos e modalidades esportivas, segundo sexo. Em relação aos resultados, dois aspectos merecem destaque. O primeiro é que identificou-se diferença de IC entre basquetebolistas e handebolistas do sexo masculino (p < 0,05). Já o segundo ponto a ser destacado, é a diferença encontrada de CAI entre voleibolistas e atletas de nado sincronizado do sexo feminino (p < 0,05). Os resultados do presente estudo permitem concluir que o padrão alimentar de esportistas adolescentes, praticantes de modalidades com características distintas, foi semelhante, havendo diferenças em poucas modalidades esportivas.

The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of mental fatigue on passing decision-making in professional soccer athletes. A controlled and counterbalanced cross-over design was adopted consisting of three visits with a 1-week interval between sessions. Twenty professional soccer male athletes participated in three randomized conditions divided into three visits: control, 15-min Stroop task, and 30-min Stroop task. Inhibitory control was accessed by the Stroop task (accuracy and response time) before and after induced mental fatigue protocol. The athletes played a training match (90-min) following the experimental conditions. The Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI) was used for the passing decisionmaking analysis. The GPAI analysis showed impaired passing decision-making performance following the 30-min Stroop task compared with the 15-min and control condition (F (2,17) = 6.99, p = .01). Moreover, an increase in response time during the Stroop task was found following 30-min Stroop task condition (F (2,17) = 6.57, p = .03) compared to 15-min of Stroop task and control conditions. Prolonged cognitive tasks may be considered a mediating factor in passing decisionmaking performance in male professional soccer athletes throughout a full-length training match. Thus, athletes should avoid highly demanding-cognitive tasks before a soccer match. Future studies are required to explore more ecological cognitive tasks to induce mental fatigue (i.e. smartphones and video-games) and their effects on other performance indicators (e.g. physical, technical, tactical) in a full-length training match setting.

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RESUMOObjetivos: Verificar a prevalência de insatisfação corporal em universitários de diferentes áreas de conhecimento, bem como a relação com sexo e com estado nutricional. Méto-dos: A amostra foi composta por universitários da Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF) de diferentes áreas de conhecimento. O Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) e a Escala de Silhuetas para adultos avaliaram a insatisfação corporal. Massa corporal e estatura autorreferidas foram utilizadas para o cálculo do índice de massa corporal (IMC). Para as aná-lises estatísticas, foram realizados testes de associação, comparação e regressão logística. Resultados: Dos 535 estudantes, com média de idade de 20,82 ± 3,03 anos, 245 eram do sexo masculino. A média do BSQ foi de 68,00 ± 28,74, sendo 88,9% livres de insatisfação. Porém, pela escala de silhuetas, 76,6% foram considerados insatisfeitos. Os estudantes da área de saúde e humanas foram, sem significância, mais insatisfeitos que alunos de exatas. As mulheres em relação aos homens (p < 0,05) e aqueles com sobrepeso/obesidade (OR: 3,174; p = 0,000) tiveram a maior frequência na classificação de insatisfação corporal. Conclusão: A maioria dos jovens mostrou-se livre de insatisfação corporal, não havendo relação com a área de estudo, porém as universitárias com IMC mais elevado apresentaram-se mais insatisfeitas com sua imagem corporal. ABSTRACT Objectives:To check the prevalence of body dissatisfaction in college students of different majors, as well as the relationship with gender and nutritional status. Methods: The sample was composed of college students from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF) of several different majors. The Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) and the Silhouette Scale for Adults assessed body dissatisfaction. Self-referred body mass and height were used to calculate the body mass index (BMI). For the statistical analysis, association, comparison, and logistic regression tests were performed. Results: Among the 535 students, with average age of 20.82 ± 3.03 years old, 245 were male. The BSQ average score was 68.00 ± 28.74, being 88.9% of the subjects free from dissatisfaction. Nevertheless, according to the silhouette scale, 76.6% were found to be dissatisfied. The students of Life Sciences and Humanities were, insignificantly, more dissatisfied than the Exact Sciences students. Women, when compared to men (p < 0.05) and those overweight/obese (OR: 3.174; p = 0.000)

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OBJECTIVETo analyze Brazilian literature on body image and the theoretical and methodological advances that have been made.METHODSA detailed review was undertaken of the Brazilian literature on body image, selecting published articles, dissertations and theses from the SciELO, SCOPUS, LILACS and PubMed databases and the CAPES thesis database. Google Scholar was also used. There was no start date for the search, which used the following search terms: “body image” AND “Brazil” AND “scale(s)”; “body image” AND “Brazil” AND “questionnaire(s)”; “body image” AND “Brazil” AND “instrument(s)”; “body image” limited to Brazil and “body image”.RESULTSThe majority of measures available were intended to be used in college students, with half of them evaluating satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the body. Females and adolescents of both sexes were the most studied population. There has been a significant increase in the number of available instruments. Nevertheless, numerous published studies have used non-validated instruments, with much confusion in the use of the appropriate terms (e.g., perception, dissatisfaction, distortion).CONCLUSIONSMuch more is needed to understand body image within the Brazilian population, especially in terms of evaluating different age groups and diversifying the components/dimensions assessed. However, interest in this theme is increasing, and important steps have been taken in a short space of time.

This study compared the different factors associated with eating behaviors among young female and male athletes and non-athletes. A total of 580 female and male athletes and 362 female and male non-athletes between 10 and 19 years old participated. We used the subscales of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) to evaluate the factors associated with unhealthy eating behaviors. We found higher scores for females on the diet subscale compared with males, regardless of athletic group (P < 0.05). Non-athlete youths scored higher on this subscale compared with male athletes (P < 0.05). Our findings indicate higher scores for female athletes with regard to the bulimia and preoccupation with food subscale compared with other the groups (P < 0.05). Moreover, we observed that non-athlete males were more likely to engage in binge eating compared with athletes of the same sex (P < 0.05). Finally, females had higher scores on the oral self subscale than males, regardless of athletic group (P < 0.05). We concluded that the factors associated with eating behaviors differ with regard to sex and group.