Psychometric properties of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 (SATAQ-4) in French women and men

Body Image. 2016 Jun:17:143-51. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.03.002. Epub 2016 Apr 12.

Abstract

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 (SATAQ-4), a measure of internalization of societal appearance ideals, in French men and women. French college students completed a translation of the 22-item SATAQ-4 and measures of body image and eating concerns. Exploratory analyses among women (N=207) indicated a 20-item scale with the original five factors: Internalization: Thin/Low Body Fat, Internalization: Muscular/Athletic, Pressures: Family, Pressures: Media, Pressures: Peers. This structure was confirmed among a second sample of women (N=227). The SATAQ-4 scores revealed excellent reliability and convergent validity with body image and eating concern scores. A slightly modified factor structure emerged in men, with excellent reliability. Among men, the SATAQ-4 subscales were consistently associated with eating, and shape and weight concerns, although less consistently with general measures of body image. The French SATAQ-4 is a useful measure of internalization of appearance ideals.

Keywords: Appearance ideals; Body image; Disordered eating; France; Internalization; Sociocultural.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Attitude*
  • Body Dysmorphic Disorders / diagnosis
  • Body Dysmorphic Disorders / psychology
  • Body Image*
  • Body Weight
  • Cross-Cultural Comparison*
  • Feeding and Eating Disorders / diagnosis
  • Feeding and Eating Disorders / psychology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Internal-External Control
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Physical Appearance, Body*
  • Psychometrics / statistics & numerical data*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sex Factors
  • Surveys and Questionnaires*
  • Thinness / psychology
  • Translations
  • Young Adult