Abstract
PurposeDifferentiating the concept of body satisfaction, especially the functional component, is important in clinical and research context. The aim of the present study is to contribute to further refinement of the concept by evaluating the psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the Body Cathexis Scale (BCS). Differences in body satisfaction between clinical and non-clinical respondents are also explored.MethodExploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to investigate whether functional body satisfaction can be distinguished as a separate factor, using data from 238 adult female patients from a clinical sample and 1060 women from two non-clinical samples in the Netherlands. Univariate tests were used to identify differences between non-clinical and clinical samples.ResultsEFA identified functionality as one of three factors, which was confirmed by CFA. CFA showed the best fit for a three-factor model, where functionality, non-weight, and weight were identified as separate factors in both populations. Internal consistency was good and correlations between factors were low. Women in the non-clinical sample scored significantly higher on the BCS than women with eating disorders on all three subscales, with high effect sizes.ConclusionsThe three factors of the BCS may be used as subscales, enabling researchers and practitioners to use one scale to measure different aspects of body satisfaction, including body functionality. Use of the BCS may help to achieve a more complete understanding of how people evaluate body satisfaction and contribute to further research on the effectiveness of interventions focussing on body functionality.Level of evidenceCross-sectional descriptive study, Level V.
Highlights
The extensive interest in body satisfaction in the field of eating disorders entails an increasing need to differentiate and refine the concept of body satisfaction
The first aim of the present study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the 40-item Body Cathexis Scale (BCS) [16], by re-examining the factor structure and investigate the hypothesis that functional body satisfaction is a distinguishable factor in all samples
Awareness has increased that other components of body satisfaction, such as functional body satisfaction, should be measured as well
Summary
The extensive interest in body satisfaction in the field of eating disorders entails an increasing need to differentiate and refine the concept of body satisfaction. Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity has received insufficient consideration With this in mind, more insight into different components of body satisfaction is of importance. The BCS assesses satisfaction with various parts of the body (including non-weight related body parts, such as eyes and hair, and weight-related body parts, such as hips and legs) and satisfaction with bodily functions, such as energy level and coordination. This appreciation of bodily functions has recently received greater consideration [8, 9]. The Dutch version of the BCS still lacks state-of-the-art psychometric evaluation, in particular exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, in both clinical and representative non-clinical samples
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