A Psychometric Evaluation of Measures of Male Body Dissatisfaction Using Item Response Theory

Body image research has received greater attention in the past few decades, with an increase in the recognition and understanding of body dissatisfaction (BD). Moreover, the literature has focused predominantly on female BD, and only recently has male BD been examined, even though BD in males has dramatically increased (Goldfield, Blouin, & Woodside, 2006). Not surprisingly, accurate measurement is key in BD research. Although the presentation of BD contrasts greatly between males and females, many current measures do not delineate between features of male and female BD and are not sensitive to core features of male BD (e.g., muscularity and bulk). Measures specified for males attempt to focus on these core features, but incorrectly assume that they have equal weight for all males. Therefore, this study provided an evaluation of four measures of male BD using item response theory to provide an alternative method of analysis and scoring for a more complete picture of male BD. 841 participants completed the study. By examining the response patterns in the data, the following research questions were answered: 1) What is the level of discriminability of each item and which are the most informative? 2) Are there item biases along the spectrum of BD? 3) Are these scales equivalent measures of BD and, if not already present, are equivalent short-form measures possible? Results also provided evidence for future research on developing a computer-adaptive test (CAT) for BD. Implications and future directions will be discussed.

Faculty Thesis Advisor – Dr. Erin Buchanan