The Male Body Attitudes Scale: A confirmatory factor analysis with a sample of gay men

Abstract

The Male Body Attitudes Scale (MBAS; Tylka, Bergeron, & Schwartz, 2005) is a recently created instrument which assesses males’ attitudes regarding their muscularity, body fat, and height. Although the MBAS was created via exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, its factor structure has yet to be replicated with more diverse samples. The aim of the current study was to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis of the MBAS with a sample of gay men. Results from an online sample of 207 self-identified gay men revealed that the original three-factor structure of the MBAS, as well as a two-factor structure, consisting of muscularity and body fat, displayed strong factorial validity. These findings suggest that either a two- or three-factor structure may be used when assessing body image concerns in gay men.