Body image construct of Sri Lankan adolescents

“Body image” is more than the visual perception of size and it is probably multidimensional. It is known to influence eating behaviors and self-esteem of adolescents. Although widely studied in developed countries, it has been studied little in Sri Lanka.

This study was designed to translate and culturally adapt a tool to assess dimensions of body image in Sri Lankan adolescents.

The study was carried out in the Anuradhapura District on school going children in grades nine to eleven. A multidimensional body image questionnaire was translated to Sinhalese language using the nominal group consensus method. The translated version was administered to 278 (114 boys) students after content validation and pre-testing. To assess test-retest reliability, the same questionnaire was administered to the same sample after two weeks. Psychometric properties were assessed using exploratory factor analysis.

Three-factor model emerged when dimensions in body image were analysed. Both boys and girls had almost identical factor structure. The three dimensions identified were “affective body image”, “body perception” and “orientation on body size”. All factors had good internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha > 0.76 and explained more than 56% of the total variance in both sexes.

The translated body image questionnaire was a valid and reliable tool which can be used in Sri Lankan adolescents. Both genders had a similar, multidimensional body image construct.