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The sociocultural attitudes towards appearance scale-3 (SATAQ-3): development and validation
J Kevin Thompson1, Patricia van den Berg, Megan Roehrig
1Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620-8200, USA. thompsonjk2003@yahoo.com
The International Journal of Eating Disorders
|March 30, 2004
Summary
The revised Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ-3) effectively measures societal influences on body image and eating disturbances. It identifies distinct factors of media influence, athletic figures, and informational pressures, proving useful for risk assessment and intervention evaluation.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Public Health
Background:
- Societal pressures significantly impact body image and eating behaviors.
- Existing measures require refinement to capture multifaceted sociocultural influences.
- The Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ) is a widely used tool in this area.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a revised version of the SATAQ (SATAQ-3).
- To explore the underlying factor structure of sociocultural attitudes towards appearance.
- To assess the scale's validity and utility in relation to body image and eating disturbances.
Main Methods:
- Two independent samples of college females participated.
- Factor analyses were conducted on the revised SATAQ.
- Convergent validity was assessed using established measures of body image and eating disturbance.
Main Results:
- Factor analyses revealed distinct internalization factors: generic media influence, athletic figure internalization, media pressure, and media as an informational source.
- The SATAQ-3 demonstrated excellent convergent validity with measures of body image and eating disturbance.
- Individuals with eating disturbances or disorders scored higher on SATAQ-3 subscales compared to controls.
Conclusions:
- The SATAQ-3 is a robust measure of multiple sociocultural influences on appearance.
- The scale can be utilized for identifying risk factors for eating disturbances.
- SATAQ-3 scores can help evaluate the effectiveness of prevention and treatment programs.