Development of a Body Image Concern Scale using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in Chinese university students

Figures & data

Figure 1 Standardized factor structures for a confirmatory factor analysis of the six-factor Body Image Concern Scale model.

Table 1 Multiple-factor fitting models of the item matrix regarding the body image concerns in 693 participants

Model	Item number under each factor	χ^2/df	Goodness-of-fit index	Adjusted goodness-of-fit index	Tucker–Lewis index	Comparative fit index	Root mean square error of approximation	Standardized root mean square residual
Four-factor	5, 5, 5, 3	4.14	0.92	0.90	0.88	0.90	0.067	0.062
Five-factor	7, 6, 6, 3, 2	4.21	0.89	0.86	0.88	0.89	0.068	0.066
Six-factor	4, 4, 6, 4, 4, 2	3.33	0.91	0.89	0.92	0.93	0.058	0.050
Seven-factor	4, 3, 2, 3, 4, 2, 2	3.14	0.94	0.91	0.94	0.95	0.056	0.046

Table 2 Item loadings on six factors in 693 participants

	Factor 1	2	3	4	5	6
Social Avoidance
Because of my appearance, I avoid appearing in social situations such as parties or speaking to authority figures	0.84	0.16	0.08	0.15	0.18	0.15
Because of my appearance, I avoid appearing in public situations such as restaurants, restrooms, or city streets	0.80	0.10	0.09	0.14	0.14	0.14
Because of my appearance, I avoid close physical contact, hugging, kissing, or sex	0.73	0.20	0.05	0.15	0.27	0.12
Because of my appearance, I avoid physical activities such as exercise, or outdoor recreation	0.70	0.02	0.14	0.14	0.14	0.07
Appearance Dissatisfaction
I am dissatisfied with my appearance defect	0.07	0.74	0.29	0.15	0.11	0.15
I believe that I have defect in my appearance	0.03	0.73	0.14	0.13	0.07	0.10
I am dissatisfied with my overall appearance	0.18	0.61	0.15	0.32	0.07	0.16
I have complained about other defects of my body, such as parasitic infection or body odor	0.10	0.43	0.17	0.10	0.19	0.06
Preoccupation with Reassurance
I am often upset when concentrating on my appearance	0.19	0.30	0.57	0.18	0.07	0.33
I often ask others repeatedly how they feel about my appearance for comfort	0.20	0.15	0.52	0.05	0.08	0.18
I often compare my appearance to that of others	0.03	0.32	0.48	0.12	0.15	0.19
I have tried various remedies to improve my appearance, such as plastic surgery	0.25	0.11	0.47	0.16	0.05	−0.10
I often receive comments about my appearance from others	0.15	0.02	0.44	0.22	0.06	0.10
I often camouflage my appearance defect with clothes or makeup	0.14	0.25	0.42	0.05	0.18	0.12
Perceived Distress/Discrimination
I feel distressed when others comment on my appearance	0.22	0.25	0.26	0.59	0.21	0.13
I often feel being treated differently because of my appearance	0.19	0.20	0.22	0.52	0.15	0.07
I feel distressed when being treated differently because of my appearance	0.08	0.29	0.07	0.45	0.26	0.11
I feel distressed when others are scrutinizing my appearance defect	0.11	0.34	0.30	0.40	0.33	0.25
Defect Hiding
When I have physical contact with others, I change my movements or body posture to hide the defect, such as avoiding some parts being touched by others	0.26	0.10	0.22	0.14	0.68	0.11
I avoid physical contact with others	0.25	0.10	−0.04	0.16	0.62	0.06
I often cover up my appearance defect with unnatural posture such as putting my hands in pocket	0.27	0.19	0.34	0.13	0.46	0.24
I avoid being looked at by others when I am unclothed	0.01	0.10	0.08	0.05	0.46	0.11
Embarrassment in Public
I feel uneasy or embarrassed in public situations such as city streets or restaurants where I concentrate on my appearance	0.19	0.22	0.27	0.11	0.18	0.80
I feel uneasy or embarrassed at work or in social situations where I concentrate on my appearance	0.16	0.18	0.27	0.19	0.21	0.76

Note: Items with target loading >0.40 and cross-loading <0.35 were shown.

Table 3 The Body Image Concern Scale factor scores (mean ± SD) in two gender groups, and their internal reliabilities and intercorrelations in all participants

	Social Avoidance	Appearance Dissatisfaction	Preoccupation with Reassurance	Perceived Distress/Discrimination	Defect Hiding	Embarrassment in Public
Score
Women (n=365)	5.74±2.74	1.85±3.94	12.05±4.37	8.71±3.70	9.21±3.78	5.18±2.33
Men (n=328)	6.00±2.89	9.68±3.67*	10.60±3.66*	8.30±3.32	8.46±3.53*	4.92±2.18
Internal alpha (n=693)	0.90	0.79	0.75	0.78	0.71	0.92
Intercorrelation (n=693)
Social Avoidance		0.32**	0.41**	0.45**	0.45**	0.38**
Appearance Dissatisfaction			0.53**	0.56**	0.36**	0.45**
Preoccupation with Reassurance				0.55**	0.43**	0.53**
Perceived Distress/Discrimination					0.48**	0.47**
Defect Hiding						0.44**

Notes:

* P<0.05 vs women;

** Significant correlation at P<0.01.