Validity of body image scales for Brazilian older adults

Lucilene Ferreira,Maria Da Consolação Gomes Cunha Fernandes Tavares Tavares,Ângela Nogueira Neves

doi:10.1590/s1980-65742014000400002

Lucilene Ferreira, Maria Da Consolação Gomes Cunha Fernandes Tavares Tavares + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s1980-65742014000400002

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to translate the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS) and Aging Perceptions Questionnaire (APQ) for older adults into Brazilian Portuguese, and evaluate the psychometric properties of these instruments. A sample of 606 participants aged 60 to 98 years were recruited from hospitals, rest homes, physical activity centers, leisure centers, churches/religious institutions and from the general community. All participants were personally invited and voluntarily accepted to participate in the research. A confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit to the original APQ model and to a new bidimensional model for BAS after excluding some items. We also observed satisfactory evidence of internal consistency, convergent, discriminant, concurrent and divergent validity. Regarding validity, significant variation of scores from the two scales in both, physically active and sedentary participants was herein highlighted. In conclusion, the BAS and APQ appear to be valid and reliable scales for Brazilian researchers to study older adults.

Highlights

Body image can be defined as the mental representation of the body’s identity (Tavares, 2003)
We considered the following fit indices for model adjustment: goodness-of-fit index (GFI), adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI), normed fit index (NFI), non-normed fit index (NNFI) and comparative fit index (CFI)
The two tested models for the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS) achieved good fit indices, a bidimensional structure was considered the best solution because of its parsimony indices, which indicated that this model better explained the observed data

Summary

Introduction

Body image can be defined as the mental representation of the body’s identity (Tavares, 2003). An individual’s surroundings, perceptions of others, internal emotions, and integrity and fragility of bodily elements are central components of this representation (Schilder, 1978, Tavares, 2003). Body image dynamically includes interrelated conscious and unconscious aspects that continuously interact with the external world (Schilder, 1978). From this perspective, the social, physiological and psychological variables are integrated into the perception of the body as a whole (Schilder, 1978). We need to better understand this age group to find ways to promote a healthy aging (Clarke & Griffin, 2008; Clarke, Griffin, & PACC Research Team, 2008; Ferraro et al, 2008; Halliwell & Dittmar, 2003)

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