The Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3) and its earlier versions are measures designed to assess societal and interpersonal aspects of appearance ideals.Correlational, structural equation modeling, and prospective studies of the SATAQ-3 have shown consistent and significant associations with measures of body image disturbance and eating pathology. In the current investigation, the SATAQ-3 was revised to improve upon some conceptual limitations and was evaluated in four US and three international female samples, as well as a US male sample. In Study 1, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses for a sample of women from the Southeastern US (N = 859) indicated a 22-item scale with five factors: Study 2 replicated the factorial validity, reliability, and convergent validity of the SATAQ-4 in an international sample of women drawn from Italy, England, and Australia (N = 362). Study 3 examined a sample of college males from the US (N = 271); the five-factor solution was largely replicated, yet there was some evidence of an underlying structure unique to men. Future research avenues include additional item testing and modification of the scale for men, as well as adaptation of the measure for children and adolescents.Keywords: SATAQ, internalization, appearance ideals, sociocultural pressure, measurement, body image, eating disturbance. DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE SATAQ-4 5 Development and Validation of the Sociocultural AttitudesTowards Appearance Research has demonstrated an array of negative consequences associated with body image disturbance and eating pathology (e.g., decreased self-esteem, negative affect, unhealthy weight control practices, and serious medical complications) (Grossbard, Lee, Neighbors, & Larimer, 2009; Mellor, Fuller-Tyszkie, McCabe, & Ricciardelli, 2010;Mintz & Betz, 1988;Rodin, Silberstein, & Striegel-Moore, 1984;Stice, 2002). Consequently, researchers have sought to understand the etiology and maintenance of these disorders in order to illuminate potential points of intervention (Cash & Smolak, 2011;Stice, 2002). One prominent etiological model that has received strong empirical support is the tripartite influence model (Thompson, Heinberg, Altabe, & Tantleff-Dunn, 1999), which is based on socioculturual theories of body image disturbance and disordered eating (Keel & Forney, 2013;Tiggemann, 2011). This model posits that individuals are pressured by powerful social agents (i.e., peers, family, and the media) to adhere to culturally-sanctioned appearance ideals, which emphasize thinness for women and muscularity for men. These social pressures are proposed to lead individuals to internalize relevant appearance ideals (i.e., to set the ideal as one's own personal standard of attractiveness).Internalization of the often unattainable ideal is thought to lead to body dissatisfaction,which is an established risk factor for unhealthy weight control practices and disordered eating (Thompson, Schaefer, & Menzel, 2012).Because females report higher le...

This study deals with the assessment of quality of life and its main clinical and demographical determinants in a clinical series of 103 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) (37 men; 66 women; mean age 44.89 years; mean disease duration 12.40 years; mean EDSS score 4.07). We used the MSQOL-54 inventory, a disease-specific instrument recently validated in an Italian population. Each patient underwent a complete clinical assessment, including that of disability status (Expanded Disability Status Scale), cognitive function (Mini Mental State Examination), depression (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression) and fatigue (Fatigue Severity Scale). In terms of Pearson's correlations, there was a moderate inverse relationship between disability level and the MSQOL-54 physical composite score, and a moderate to strong inverse correlation between depression or fatigue severity and both the physical and mental composite scores. In a stepwise linear regression analysis, depression, fatigue and disability level were confirmed to be significant and independent predictors of quality of life. Quality of life instruments can help to provide a broader measure of the disease impact and to develop a care program tailored to the patient's needs.

This study deals with the assessment of quality of life and its main clinical and demographical determinants in a clinical series of 103 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) (37 men; 66 women; mean age 44.89 years; mean disease duration 12.40 years; mean EDSS score 4.07). We used the MSQOL-54 inventory, a disease-specific instrument recently validated in an Italian population. Each patient underwent a complete clinical assessment, including that of disability status (Expanded Disability Status Scale), cognitive function (Mini Mental State Examination), depression (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression) and fatigue (Fatigue Severity Scale). In terms of Pearson's correlations, there was a moderate inverse relationship between disability level and the MSQOL-54 physical composite score, and a moderate to strong inverse correlation between depression or fatigue severity and both the physical and mental composite scores. In a stepwise linear regression analysis, depression, fatigue and disability level were confirmed to be significant and independent predictors of quality of life. Quality of life instruments can help to provide a broader measure of the disease impact and to develop a care program tailored to the patient's needs.

Two experiments (Ns = 220, 135) investigated the role of first and second generation immigrants' desire for Culture Maintenance and Intercultural Contact in affecting majority members' intergroup attitudes (2 × 2 × 2 design). Participants were presented with fictitious interviews through which immigrants' acculturation preferences and generational status were manipulated. Immigrants' desire for contact strongly affected host members' attitudes: those who were perceived to want contact elicited more favourable intergroup attitudes than those who did not. Desire for contact also moderated the relationship between immigrants' desire for culture maintenance and attitudes towards them: culture maintenance only stimulated favourable attitudes if the immigrant also expressed desire for contact. Immigrants' generational status and their desire for Culture Maintenance were found to interact, such that less favourable attitudes were shown towards second generation immigrants refusing their heritage culture. Psychological processes mediating these effects were investigated, finding evidence for symbolic threat, appreciation for multiculturalism and metastereotypes. Overall, the results suggest that both immigrants' generational status and acculturation attitudes should be taken into account when studying intergroup attitudes of dominant groups and in planning interventions for the improvement of intercultural relations.

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