The Body Influence Assessment Inventory (BIAI): Development and initial validation

Abstract

This manuscript describes the development and preliminary psychometric properties of a 28-item self-report instrument, the Body Influence Assessment Inventory (BIAI). The BIAI taps four dimensions of bodily experiences in the eating disorders area that are linked with suicide-related behaviors. Following the four phases of instrument development, four studies were conducted to examine the psychometric properties of the BIAI. In Study 1 (n = 510 nonclinical participants), exploratory factor analysis identified four factors with item-factor compositions ranging from .30 to .88. In Study 2 (n = 490 nonclinical participants), the four-factor oblique solution provided the best fit to the sample data: Comparative fit index of .95, Tucker-Lewis Index of .93, and root-mean-square error of approximation value of .05. In Study 3 (psychiatric inpatients), estimates of test-retest reliability across a four-week interval (n = 46) ranged from .80 to .89, and estimates of criterion-related validity were strong. In Study 4, Cronbach alpha estimates ranged from .81 to .90 for the BIAI scales. Results provided additional evidence of known-groups and concurrent validity estimates for the BIAI scales. The results suggest that the BIAI has good preliminary psychometric properties.

Relationship between body mass index, body image, and fear of negative evaluation: Moderating role of self-esteem

“…The Body Influence Assessment Inventory (BIAI) was applied to measure participants’ BI. Proposed by Osman et al (2006), the instrument comprises four dimensions of positive affect, negative affect, suicide-related thoughts, and behavioral practices related to the influence of the body and physical appearance on psychosocial functioning. The instrument was expanded upon Orbach’s (1996) conceptualization of the role and influence of bodily experiences in self-destructive behaviors.…”

Self‐esteem mediates the associations among negative affect, body disturbances, and interpersonal problems in treatment‐seeking obese individuals

“…Two subscales of the Body Influence Assessment Inventory (BIAI, Osman et al., ) were used to assess affective and behavioural components of BID: the negative concerns about physical appearance (BIAI‐NA) scale, which examines the tendency to evaluate oneself negatively because of body experiences (seven items) and has shown a high relation with other measures of BID (Osman et al., ); and the dysfunctional practices aimed at weight reduction (BIAI‐AP) scale, which evaluates the extent to which the individual engages in some core behavioural components of the BID to control weight gain, such as excessive exercise, restrained eating, and laxatives use (seven items). Participants rate items on a scale ranging from 1 ( never ) to 5 ( daily ).…”

“…Table 1 shows the means, SDs, skewness, and kurtosis for all variables, and means and SDs for males (n = 85) and females (n = 337). Participants reported lower selfesteem [t (df = 421) = −39.15; p < .001], higher overall interpersonal problems [t (df = 421) = 9.69; p < .001], and negative affect about their physical appearance [t (df = 421) = 6.37; p < .001] than normative data (Horowitz et al, 2000;Osman et al, 2006, andPrezza et al, 1997, respectively). Furthermore, participants reported less frequent dysfunctional practices aimed at weight reduction [t (df = 421) = −2.96; p < .01] and binge behaviours [t (df = 421) = −13.71; p < .001] than normative data (Gormally et al, 1982 andOsman et al, 2006, respectively).…”

“…Furthermore, previous research has suggested that obese individuals without eating disorders are also at increased risk of depression, compared with normal-weight people (Werrij, Mulkens, Hospers, & Jansen, 2006), and may experience high negative affect symptoms (Jansen, Havermans, Nederkoorn, & Roefs, 2008). Personal beliefs and concerns regarding one's body and appearance also play a significant role in determining the presence of psychological distress in obese individuals (Osman et al, 2006). A negative body image as well as body image disturbances (BID) can have adverse psychological consequences in obese people, including depressive symptoms, decreased self-esteem, and poorer quality of life (Friedman & Brownell, 1995;Friedman, Reichmann, Costanzo, & Musante, 2002).…”

Psychometric evaluation of the body investment scale for use with adolescents

“…The MAST items are rated on a 5‐point scale ranging from 1 ( I strongly agree ) to 5 ( I strongly disagree ). Previous investigations indicate that estimates of internal consistency and validity (e.g., concurrent validity) for this instrument range from moderate to strong for adolescents (Cotton & Range, 1996; Gutierrez et al, 2000; Hagstrom & Gutierrez, 1998; Osman et al, 2000; Osman, Barrios, Grittmann, & Osman, 1993; Osman, Barrios, Osman, Hoffman, Hammer, & Panak, 1994). Consistent with the scoring procedure, the four scales of the MAST (attraction to life, repulsion by death, attraction to death, and repulsion by life) were used as separate validation measures in the current study.…”