Validation of a Spanish Version of the Physical Appearance Comparison Scales

Abstract

Physical appearance comparison has been widely studied because of its strong relationship with body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. The main objective of this study was to validate the physical appearance comparison scales (PACS-Revised and PACS-3) in a sample of Spanish men and women and examine their psychometric properties. The sample consisted of 1151 participants (age M = 22.31, SD = 3.40). A unidimensional structure was corroborated in the PACS-R, and three factors in the PACS-3 (proximal, distal, and muscularity comparisons). The PACS-R and PACS-3 showed full scalar invariance across sex. The internal consistency for the PACS-R and subscales of PACS-3 were satisfactory. Positive statistically significant relationships were found with measures of disordered eating (EAT-26) and dysmorphic concern (DCQ). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that the PACS-3 discretely improved the prediction of disordered eating over PACS-R, but did not show improvement in the prediction of dysmorphic concern beyond the PACS-R. These findings suggest that the PACS-R and PACS-3 may be useful tools for evaluating the tendency of men and women to compare their physical appearance.

Psychometric Examination of the Body, Eating, and Exercise Comparison Orientation Measure (BEECOM) among Spanish Adolescents and Young Adults

“…This also implies that the instrument can be recommended for the purpose of conducting reasonably unbiased comparisons between the population groups under consideration in terms of self-reported levels of body, eating, and exercise comparison orientation. In this vein, the pattern of differences observed in body-related comparisons between the age and gender groups considered in the present study is consistent with prior research [ 10 , 12 , 24 ]. We refer to the fact that body-related comparison scores favored females and individuals in their young adulthood over males and adolescents, respectively.…”

“…In the event that evidence was obtained to support measurement invariance of the BEECOM scores across age and gender groups, a secondary goal of the present study was to examine gender and age differences in ED-related comparison orientation. It was hypothesized that, in line with previous research examining appearance-focused comparisons [ 10 , 12 , 24 ], small-to-intermediate-sized differences would be found in favor of groups consisting of females and younger adults.…”

Factor structure and psychometric properties of a multicultural Spanish‐language version of the Eating Disorder‐15 in a nonclinical sample of Chilean women

“…It comprises 11 items organized in a single factor structure and rated on a 5‐point scale (0 = never , 4 = always ). The Spanish‐language version validated by Senín‐Calderón et al (2020) replicated the single factor structure and showed a strong positive correlation with a measure of EDs.…”

Time Spent on Instagram and Body Image, Self-esteem, and Physical Comparison Among Young Adults in Spain: Observational Study

“…Instagram is a social media platform based on photos and videos with a higher percentage of use among young adults between 18 years and 34 years of age, as well as women [ 4 - 7 ]. The platform allows users to upload photos that emphasize their physical attractiveness, which prior to posting can be edited using filters that are provided by the application [ 4 ]. As a consequence, there is an impact on stereotypes, beauty standards, and body image, especially among Instagram’s youngest users, who are the most susceptible [ 8 ].…”