Tm. Stewart et al., Body morph assessment: Preliminary report on the development of a computerized measure of body image, OBES RES, 9(1), 2001, pp. 43-50
Objective: To develop a prototype of the Body Morph Assessment (BMA), and t
o test the reliability and validity of this new measure of body image. The
BMA is a realistic and relatively simple procedure that uses computer morph
ing for the assessment of body image. For the purposes of this preliminary
study, a prototype of the BMA was developed for usage with white women rang
ing from very thin to obese.
Research Methods and Procedures: A total of 72 subjects participated in tes
ts of reliability, content, and convergent validity of the BMA.
Results: The reliability and validity of the BMA was supported by the resul
ts of this study. In a test of convergent validity, the measures of current
, ideal, and reasonable body size were positively correlated with their equ
ivalents from a similar body image assessment procedure. In addition, relia
bility coefficients were found to be satisfactory for all variables. Partic
ipants found the human figural stimuli to be realistic.
Discussion: These preliminary findings support the reliability and validity
of the BMA with white women. Given these positive findings, we plan to ext
end the procedure to males and to other racial and ethnic groups.