Concern about Appearance on Social Media: Psychometric Evaluation and Item Response Theory Analysis with Iranian University Students

Abstract

The surge in the popularity of image-based social media (IBSM) raises concerns about its negative impacts, such as fostering unrealistic beauty and body-shape (BBS) standards and triggering appearance-related worries. The Concern about Appearance on Social Media (CONAPP) scale was developed to investigate this aspect within IBSM. However, the comprehension of its psychometric properties remains limited, prompting the need for further validation across diverse samples and cultures. This study assessed the Persian version of CONAPP using 988 Iranian university students. Confirmatory factor analysis affirmed its unidimensional structure, which proved invariant across genders. This unidimensional factor structure exhibited robust internal consistency, and its correlations with measures of appearance anxiety and life satisfaction endorsed the concurrent and divergent validity of the CONAPP scores. The CONAPP effectively distinguished BBS followers and non-followers, confirming its known-group validity. Additionally, exposure to unrealistic BBS standards and female gender predicted a heightened concern about appearance. Finally, Item Response Theory analysis underscored the effectiveness of CONAPP items in discerning various levels of appearance concern. The Persian CONAPP stands as a reliable measure of appearance concern in IBSM, with the potential to stimulate further research in the field.