Validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the attitudes toward obese persons scale and the beliefs about obese persons scale

Abstract

Object: The 20-item Attitudes toward Obese Persons Scale (ATOP) and the 8-item Beliefs about Obese Persons Scale (BAOP) are used in English speaking countries to measure attitudes and beliefs about obese persons. The purpose of this study was to test the validity and reliability of the ATOP and the BAOP in Turkish language. Methods:It is a methodological study. The study was conducted in Celal Bayar University. The study subjects comprised of 103 School of Health, 105 Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, 94 School of Physical Education, and Sports students. The data were collected by a questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic characteristics, the level of obesity knowledge and the Turkish version of the ATOP (T-ATOP) and the Turkish version of the BAOP (T-BAOP). The psychometric properties of both scales were examined by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency, intra-rater reliability. Cronbach's alpha coefficients and Spearman Brown split-half were used to assess internal consistency reliability of the scales. Intra-rater reliability of the scales was examined by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Results:Three factors (i.e., Different Personality, Social Difficulties, and Self-Esteem) of the T-ATOP were established by exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated three-factor structure. Internal consistency was supported by Cronbach's alpha (0.86), Spearman Brown split-half value (0.75 for the first half) and (0.72 for the second half), and intra-rater reliability (ICC = 0.78). The results of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the T-BAOP has a structure of the one factor. As for internal consistency of T-BAOP, it was supported by Cronbach's alpha (0.84), Spearman Brown split-half value (0.79 for the first half and 0.74 for the second half) and intra-rater reliability (ICC = 0.80). Conclusions:The T-ATOP and the T-BAOP showed initial evidence of the reliability and validity that can be used in Turkish speaking countries in order to measure attitudes and beliefs about obese persons.

Weight Stigmatization among Physical Therapy Students and Registered Physical Therapists

“…Responses were scored in the present study according to the instructions outlined by the developers [30]. The BAOP was translated from English to other languages, such as Turkish [31], and Spanish [32].…”

Stigma in Practice: Barriers to Health for Fat Women

“…While most research on fat stigma has been conducted in the United States and the United Kingdom, scholars have found anti-fat attitudes in Germany (Stein et al, 2014), Dominica (Council and Placek, 2014), and Turkey (Dedeli et al, 2014), among others. As noted earlier, Brewis et al (2011) found anti-fat attitudes across young adults in 10 countries, with the highest anti-fat attitudes in Paraguay, American Samoa, and Mexico (as opposed to the United States or United Kingdom, as many might assume).…”

Indexing adult obesity by waist-to-height and weight-to-height ratios

“…[4,7] Also, people like to be if not healthier then at least appear slimmer and taller, or they are socially pressured into understating their weight and overstating height. [8,39] The above would be sufficient to opt for WCHR in BMI 2 stead, but adiposity is also more squarely explained by WCHR. BMI 2 is a poor measure of adiposity because it involves the total weight, that is, not only that of fat but also of the lean mass.…”