DEVELOPMENT OF A SOCIOCULTURAL MEASURE OF YOUNG WOMENS EXPERIENCES WITH BODY-WEIGHT AND SHAPE

The social and societal pressures to be thin that many women experienc e are widely believed to negatively affect their body image. The fact that this view is not reflected in traditional body image measures pro mpted the development of this multidimensional self-report instrument of body weight and shape concerns that is contextually grounded in you ng women's life experiences. Semistructured interviews with high schoo l and university women(N = 16) were used to develop the questionnaire items. Students were asked about their experiences with controlling th e size and shape of their bodies, and the expectations and evaluations of others (e.g., parents, friends, intimate partners) regarding their body shape. The initial 101-item pool was derived from a content anal ysis of the interview transcripts and was administered to 287 female u niversity students. Exploratory factor analysis with oblique rotation revealed five underlying dimensions, specifically, (a) Weight dissatis faction, (b) Slimness as quality of life, (c) Interpersonal messages r egarding slimness, (d) Societal value of thinness, and (e) Valuing exe rcise.