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Development and validation of the Sexual Self-Objectification Scale
Michelle Haikalis1, Anna E Jaffe2, Natalie Koziol3
1Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University.
Abstract:
Self-objectification occurs when women view themselves from an outsider's perspective, focusing on their appearance or reducing themselves to sexual objects. To examine internalized objectification, specifically of a sexual nature, we developed and psychometrically evaluated a measure, the Sexual Self-Objectification Scale. Initial validation occurred in Study 1, wherein 500 women who participated online via Amazon's Mechanical Turk were divided into two samples to examine the theorized factor structure (training sample, n = 250) and obtain validity evidence (validation sample, n = 250). In the training sample, item factor analysis supported a 17-item, two-factor measure, with one factor capturing self-concept and presentation, and the other capturing romantic/sexual partner-specific sexual self-objectification. In the validation sample, analyses confirmed the scale structure and supported construct validity via expected associations with related constructs (e.g., objectification, sexualization, sexism). Study 2 confirmed the scale structure with a sample of college women and evaluated test-retest reliability (confirmation sample, n = 355). Findings suggest that the Sexual Self-Objectification Scale is a psychometrically sound and distinct measure that can be used, among other things, to examine whether the tenets of objectification theory hold for sexually focused self-objectification. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
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