Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors in Adolescents and Young Adults: Co-Occurrence Patterns, Psychiatric Comorbidities...

Body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) are common but often underdiagnosed and undertreated, with limited understanding of their development. The eight-item Generic Body-Focused Repetitive Behavior Scale-8 (GBS-8) provides a practical, transdiagnostic self-report instrument. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Turkish GBS-8 and to examine patterns of BFRBs in a clinical sample of adolescents and young adults.

The sample included 362 adolescents and young adults aged 12-30 years with at least one subclinical or pathological BFRB. Adolescents completed the GBS-8, the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL), while young adults completed the GBS-8, the BSI, and the Short Form-12 Health Survey (SF-12). Researchers completed the Clinical Global Impression-Severity subscale (CGI-S) to assess the severity of BFRBs.

Participants had a mean age of 17.74 ± 5.04 years, with 78.7% identifying as female. The Turkish GBS-8 showed strong internal consistency and a well-fitting two-factor structure, including symptom severity (α = 0.853), impairment (α=0.779), and the total score (α=0.855). The test-retest reliability analysis further supported the scale's validity and reliability, with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.851. A total of 50 different BFRB patterns were identified, the most common of which were skin picking, nail biting, lip/cheek biting, and knuckle cracking (8.56%), followed by only nail biting (8.01%) and a combination of nail biting, lip/cheek biting and knuckle cracking (7.18%).

The findings confirm the Turkish validity and reliability of the GBS-8, supporting its utility in clinical settings. This study also highlights the need for increased awareness and tailored interventions to improve BFRBs management.