Body image among female university students in Turkey: concurrent translation and validation of three body image measures

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to translate into Turkish and validate three measures of body image for women, namely the Photographic Figure Rating Scale, the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS) and the Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3). A total of 501 female undergraduates from Ankara completed Turkish versions of the aforementioned scales, along with Turkish versions of measures of life satisfaction and self-esteem. Participants also reported their body mass index (BMI). Factor analytic results showed that the BAS reduced to a single dimension, whereas the SATAQ-3 reduced to four dimensions; these factor structures were similar to those observed among various Western samples. Further analyses showed that most respondents (55.6%) wanted to be thinner. The translated scales showed good patterns of validity, insofar as scores were significantly correlated with life satisfaction, self-esteem and BMI, and can be recommended for the assessment of body image among Turkish-speaking samples.

Keywords:

• actual-ideal weight discrepancy
• body appreciation
• media ideals
• Turkey
• translation
• validation

Notes on contributors

Viren Swami is a Reader in Psychology at the University of Westminster and an adjunct Reader in Psychology at HELP University College in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He received his honours degree in Psychology and his doctorate from University College London.

Leyla Ozgen is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Food and Nutrition Education at Gazi University in Ankara, Turkey. She obtained her bachelor's, master's and PhD from the same university.

Elif Gokcen is a doctoral student at University College London. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Goldsmiths, University of London and an MSc in Research Methods in Psychology from University College London.

K. V. Petrides is a Reader in Psychology and Psychometrics at University College London. He holds a Bachelor in Business Administration with summa cum laude honours from PACE University (NYC, USA), a Diploma in Psychology from the University of Nottingham, an MSc in Psychological Research Methods from the University of Exeter, and a doctorate in individual differences, psychometrics and behavioural statistics from University College London.