Attitudinal body-image assessment: factor analysis of the Body-Self Relations Questionnaire

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the factor structure of the Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (BSRQ), an attitudinal body-image instrument. Random stratified samples, drawn from a national survey, included 1,064 females and 988 males. In order to evaluate the replicability of the BSRQ factor structure, separate split-sample factor analyses (principal components with varimax rotation) were conducted for each sex. Largely consistent with the conceptual basis of the BSRQ, the resultant factors derived from each analysis were: Appearance Evaluation, Appearance Orientation, Fitness Evaluation, Fitness Orientation, Health Evaluation, Health Orientation, and Illness Orientation. Subsequent concordance analyses revealed marked stability of the factor structure both within and between sexes. Females demonstrated somewhat greater differentiation of body-image attitudes than did males. The utility of the BSRQ is discussed relative to extant body-image measures.