Validation of the translated Negative Physical Self Scale in a sample of Asian women living in Canada.

OBJECTIVES: Body dissatisfaction is often linked to the internalization of Western beauty standards. Existing measures of body dissatisfaction, developed in Western societies, may fail to capture complex variations across ethnicities and cultures. The Negative Physical Self Scale (NPSS) assesses cognitive, affective, perceptual, and behavioural facets of body dissatisfaction. While unique in its consideration of Chinese ideals of body image, the NPSS has recently been translated and validated in a North American sample. The English-translated version of the NPSS has the potential to be an appropriate body dissatisfaction assessment tool for Asian women living in North America. The current study aims to validate the NPSS in an Asian female population living in Canada. METHODS: A sample of 899 undergraduate women residing in Canada with self-identified Asian ethnicity completed an online survey consisting of the NPSS and other measures of body dissatisfaction. RESULTS: An initial confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the four-factor structure of the NPSS, previously suggested in a primarily non-Asian North American sample, was a poor fit for the data. A second-order multidimensional model, based on a model proposed during the original development of the NPSS in a Chinese sample, indicated good fit once items were removed due to loadings < .60. High internal consistency between subscales and strong convergent validity with other measures were demonstrated. Notably, the NPSS Body Concern subscale demonstrated high convergence with other popular measures of body dissatisfaction and has the potential for use as a brief measure of body dissatisfaction among North American Asian females in clinical and research settings. CONCLUSIONS: The NPSS provides a valid assessment of body dissatisfaction among a sample of Asian women living in Canada, a specific subpopulation that has not been previously investigated. The findings highlight the importance of developing culturally sensitive measures of body dissatisfaction for differing ethnic and cultural groups.

Factorial validity, reliability, and measurement invariance of the Negative Physical Self Scale in a sample of men residing in North America.

The Negative Physical Self Scale (NPSS) is a measure of body dissatisfaction that was developed for administration within an Asian sample and has recently been translated to English and validated for use in North American female samples. The aim of the present study was to examine the factor structure and measurement invariance of the English-translated version of the NPSS across three ethnic groups (i.e., Caucasian, Asian, and other) using a sample of men residing in North America. Additionally, the internal consistency, convergent validity, and incremental validity of the NPSS were examined. A sample of 534 young (aged between 18 and 25) North American men completed self-report measures of the NPSS, the Body Shape Questionnaire, the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, and the Male Body Attitudes Scale. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on two hypothesized models. The results supported the second-order factor structure (four factors with three subdimensions). Overall, we found that the factor structure and factor loadings of the NPSS were equal in participants across three broad ethnic categories (i.e., Caucasian, Asian, and other). Likewise, the NPSS displayed first-order scalar invariance. Further, the NPSS test scores demonstrated high internal consistency, strong convergent validity, and incremental validity over and above the existing measures of body dissatisfaction, body attitudes, and disordered eating. In sum, the English version of the NPSS is a valid and appropriate measure to assess body dissatisfaction in men residing in North America. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring the impact of a gratitude-focused meditation on body dissatisfaction: Can a brief auditory gratitude intervention protect young women against exposure to the thin ideal?

This study aimed to determine if a brief gratitude-focused meditation would significantly impact body dissatisfaction, and whether it would serve as a protective factor from exposure to thin idealized images in a sample of undergraduate women. 176 participants (Mage= 19.75) engaged in either a gratitude meditation, mindfulness meditation, or listened to a recording of a history textbook. Women were subsequently exposed to a set of neutral images or thin ideal images. Women reported significant decreases in state body dissatisfaction following all auditory conditions, regardless of auditory content. Decreased levels of body dissatisfaction persisted through exposure to neutral images, but not through exposure to thin ideal images. Results indicated that both the gratitude and mindfulness interventions were effective in eliciting a significant increase in self-reported levels of gratitude and mindfulness compared to controls. The results of the study suggest that auditory micro-interventions can decrease body dissatisfaction in young adult women. However, further investigation into the optimal modality, length, and frequency of micro-interventions aimed at buffering the negative effects of idealized thin image exposure on women is needed.

Validation of the translated Negative Physical Self Scale in a female North American sample: Preliminary examination.

In an increasingly multicultural society, there is a need for cross-cultural research on measures of body dissatisfaction, a construct often influenced by sociocultural differences. The current study assessed the psychometric properties of an English translation of the Negative Physical Self Scale (NPSS; Chen, Jackson, & Huang, 2006). A sample of 646 young adult North American women completed an online survey including the NPSS and two widely used measures of body image and eating concerns. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-factor structure of the NPSS, three of which (Thinness, Shortness, and Facial Appearance) mirrored those found in Chinese samples. The remaining factor, labeled the Body Concern subscale, was an amalgamation of two factors found in Chinese samples, Fatness and General Appearance, and one item from the Facial Appearance subscale. Extracted factors had high internal consistencies (Cronbach's alpha values above 0.89). The NPSS, particularly the Body Concern Subscale, demonstrated strong convergent validity with other measures of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. The current study provided evidence for the use of a four-factor model of the NPSS among a North American population.

Risk for eating disorders modulates interpretation bias in a semantic priming task.

The current study used a semantic priming paradigm to investigate the presence of implicit interpretation biases for food and body shape words among 118 undergraduate females. Reaction times (RTs) were recorded while participants made lexical decisions (i.e., word vs. non-word judgments) to lexical targets that were preceded by negatively valenced eating disorder related (e.g., fat-PIZZA), eating disorder unrelated (e.g., party-PIZZA), or semantically unrelated (e.g., umbrella-PIZZA) prime words. Self-reported eating disorder traits were assessed using the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ-34), the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), and the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE-Q 6.0). Results suggested that biased RT priming effects for eating disorder related word pairs were strongly associated with measures of body dissatisfaction and ED symptomology. Specifically, scales targeting eating disordered cognitions (the BSQ-34 and the Shape/Weight Concern subscales of the EDE-Q 6.0) demonstrated the strongest association with implicit interpretation biases as assessed by performance on the semantic priming task.