Development and validation of the sociocultural attitudes towards appearance questionnaire

• Published in: The International journal of eating disorders 1995-01, Vol.17 (1), p.81-89
• Main Authors: Heinberg, Leslie J., Thompson, J. Kevin, Stormer, Susan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Attitude; Biological and medical sciences; Body Image; Culture; Eating disorders; Feeding and Eating Disorders - psychology; Female; Humans; Medical sciences; Personal appearance; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics; Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Questionnaires; Reproducibility of Results; Self image; Social conditions & trends; Surveys and Questionnaires; Techniques and methods; Women
• ISSN: 0276-3478; 1098-108X
• DOI: 10.1002/1098-108X(199501)17:1<81::AID-EAT2260170111>3.0.CO;2-Y

The Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ) was developed to assess women's recognition and acceptance of societally sanctioned standards of appearance. In Study 1, factor analyses revealed two clearcut factors: awareness/acknowledgment of a societal emphasis on appearance and an internalization/acceptance of these standards. These findings were cross‐validated in Study 2, resulting in a six‐item Awareness subscale (alpha = .71) and an eight‐item Internalization subscale (alpha = .88). Study 3 obtained good convergence between both scales and multiple indices of body image and eating disturbance. Regression analyses indicated that both factors accounted for unique variance associated with body image and eating dysfunction, however, internalization of standards was a stronger predictor of disturbance. The SATAQ should prove useful for researchers and clinicians interested in body image and eating disorders. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.