Translation and Validation of a Chinese Version of the Body Talk Scale for Women and Men

Abstract

Research on body talk has received increasing research interest in recent years, with accumulating evidence supporting the link between body talk and body image and eating disturbances. However, research on body talk in China is still relatively scarce and is generally focused on fat talk, especially for women, and much remains unknown about muscle talk and positive body talk for both Chinese women and men. To promote a better understanding of body talk in the Chinese context, the present study aimed to translate the Body Talk Scale (BTS) into Chinese Mandarin (i.e., C-BTS) and evaluate the factor-structure and psychometric properties of the C-BTS in Chinese adult women and men. The English version of the BTS was translated into Chinese Mandarin with standard procedures. With 300 Chinese women (Mage = 29.48 years, SD = 7.26) and 300 men (Mage = 29.36 years, SD = 6.81), we examined the factor structure and gender invariance of the C-BTS, as well as internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, and construct validity including convergent, concurrent, and incremental validity of the C-BTS. The results indicated that the C-BTS had three subscales (Negative Fat Talk, Negative Muscle Talk, and Positive Body Talk) and had good reliability and validity. The findings demonstrate that the C-BTS is a useful measure of body talk in both Chinese women and men.