Impact of body mass index on body image dimensions: results from a body-image questionnaire designed for dancers

This investigation was conducted to test the reliability and validity of the Multidimensional Body Image Questionnaire (MBIQD) designed for dancers. The newly constructed MBIQD was administered to 393 female and male participants (average age 21.8 yrs) from three European countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia). The scale consisted of 43 items in a 5-point response scale. Factorial analysis yielded eight factors (attractiveness, strength, joy, bad health/weakness, flexibility, body efficacy, nervousness, and masculinity) and explained 56.6% of the total variance. The internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) of the items assigned to each of the eight MBIQD subscales was high and satisfactory (from 0.71 to 0.89). The second aim was to identify gender differences within the MBIQD subscales. According to independent-sample t-tests, female dancers showed significantly higher results on the MBIQD scales of joy and flexibility, while male dancers scored significantly higher on the masculinity scale. The third aim was to identify differences between the group of dancers defined by body mass index (BMI) and the eight MBIQD subscales separately by gender. According to the Wilks test, there was a significant multivariate effect for female subjects (F = 2.06, p<0.01) and for male subjects (F = 3.05, p<0.00). According to post-hoc Fisher LSD test, significant differences in BMI groups among female dancers were found in attractiveness, strength, and masculinity MBIQD scales, while the male dancers, divided by BMI, showed significant differences in bad health/weakness, body efficacy, and flexibility MBIQD scales. This is the first research that has reported specific gender differences in body image self-perception among dancers.