Psychometric properties of the Italian body shape questionnaire: an investigation of its reliability, factorial, concurrent, and criterion validity

Abstract

Purpose This study was set up to investigate the reliability, factorial, concurrent, and criterion validity of the Italian version of the 34-item Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) and its shorter versions. Methods The study included 231 patients diagnosed with an eating disorder and 58 putatively healthy people (comparison sample). The Italian BSQ-34 was administered to participants together with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale. Information on body mass index, caloric intake at baseline, and the number of episodes of self-vomiting per week was also acquired. Results Cronbach’s alpha of BSQ-34 was 0.971 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.965–0.976) in patients and 0.960 (0.944–0.974) in controls. Test–retest stability in patients (n = 69), measured with intraclass correlation coefficient, was 0.987 (0.983–0.991). Confirmatory factor analysis of the single-factor model yielded acceptable fit for all versions of the BSQ. On all BSQ versions, patients scored higher than controls with a large effect size when calculated as Cliff’s delta. BMI and mean caloric intake at baseline had a stronger association with BSQ-34 than levels of anxiety and depression. The analysis with the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve showed that the BSQ-34 distinguished patients with an eating disorder from controls with good accuracy (Area Under the Curve = 86.5; 95% CI 82.2–90.7). Conclusion The Italian version of the BSQ possesses good psychometric properties, in both the long and the shortened versions, and it can be applied to measure body dissatisfaction for both clinical and research purposes. Level of evidence Level III, Evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case–control analytic studies.

Pre-operative body shape concerns moderate excess weight loss trajectory in bariatric surgery patients: a 2-year longitudinal study

“…The BSQ is a standard tool routinely applied for evaluation of body image in bariatric surgery candidates [ 26 , 27 ], but no empirical evidence has been published on its internal consistency and structural validity in such patients. Marzola et al [ 44 ] recently demonstrated the validity of the 34-item BSQ version on a sample of Italian patients with eating disorders, but no further studies are available in the Italian language. The present Study 1 results supported both the internal consistency and the validity for a general factor structure of the questionnaire in candidates for bariatric surgery, thus contributing to extend the validity of this measure among clinical samples, further providing preliminary normative scores for both male and female patients suffering from obesity.…”

The Nepean Belief Scale (NBS) as a tool to investigate the intensity of beliefs in anorexia nervosa: psychometric properties of the Italian version

“…Participants rate their responses on a six‐point scale, with a time interval focused on the past 4 weeks, where higher scores indicate greater dissatisfaction with body shape. The validity and reliability of the BSQ-34 have been proved [ 39 ], with reliability judged excellent (around 0.90), as confirmed in the Italian validation [ 40 ].…”

Increased General, Eating, and Body-Related Psychopathology in Inpatients in a Specialized Eating Disorders Unit after the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Comparison with the Pre-Pandemic Period

“…In the subsample for which these questionnaires were available, body-related psychopathology at admission was examined through the Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire (BIAQ) [ 34 ], the Body Checking Questionnaire (BCQ) [ 35 ], and the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) [ 36 ]. Cronbach’s alpha in the sample was 0.86 for BIAQ, 0.96 for BCQ, and 0.97 for BSQ,…”