Validating the body talk scale among Chinese early adolescents and exploring its longitudinal relationship with body...

Early adolescents' body image disturbances are closely linked to eating disorder risk, with body talk being a key social correlate of body image. This study addressed two gaps: (1) validating the Body Talk Scale (BTS) in Chinese early adolescents, and (2) clarifying the dynamic directionality between body talk and body appreciation (BA). Study 1 enrolled 553 early adolescents (M_age = 12.85, SD = 0.45, 38.70 % females). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, reliability test, convergent validity test and measurement invariance test all supported the BTS's three-factor structure (negative fat talk [NFT], negative muscle talk [NMT], positive body talk [PBT]) with good reliability and validity. Study 2 conducted a 4-wave diary study on 265 adolescents (M_age = 12.91, SD = 0.47, 42.64 % females). Dynamic structural equation modeling revealed a bidirectional positive cycle between PBT and BA, unidirectional and negative prediction of NFT by BA, and no directional association between NMT and BA. Males had higher NMT baselines than females. Our work addresses the identified gaps by validating the BTS in Chinese early adolescents and revealing dimension-specific body talk-body appreciation interactions. The PBT-BA virtuous cycle and BA→NFT unidirectional link further offer practical implications for body image interventions.