Development of a Sociocultural Measure of Young Women's Experiences With Body Weight and Shape

Abstract

The social and societal pressures to be thin that many women experience are widely believed to negatively affect their body image, The fact that this view is not reflected in traditional body image measures prompted the development of this multidimensional self-report instrument of body weight and shape concerns that is contextually grounded in young women's life experiences. Semistructured interviews with high school and university women (N= 16) were used to develop the questionnaire items. Students were asked about their experiences with controlling the size and shape of their bodies, and the expectations and evaluations of others (e.g., parents, friends, intimate partners) regarding their body shape. The initial 101-item pool was derived from a content analysis of the interview transcripts and was administered to 287 female university students. Exploratory factor analysis with oblique rotation revealed five underlying dimensions, specifically, (a) Weight dissatisfaction, (b) Slimness as quality of life, (c) Interpersonal messages regarding slimness, (d) Societal value of thinness, and (e) Valuing exercise.