Desenvolvimento de uma Escala de Comparação Social através da Aparência Física: Estudo exploratório da estrutura factorial e das propriedades psicométricas numa amostra feminina da população geral

Abstract

This study presents the development of a measure of Social Comparison through Physical Appearance (SCPAS) and their psychometric characteristics in a sample of 1728 female participants from normal population. Factorial Analysis of Principal Components were performed for each part of the instrument: in the Version A: Peers was found a structure of 2 factors (Atractiveness/Ranking and Group Fit) that explains 72.135% of variance; the Version B: Models present a unidimensional structure that explains 67.251% of variance. Very good internal reliability coefficients were found. The two versions are significantly associated to social comparison and shame measures, to anxiety, depression and stress indicators, and eating disorder measures. The scale presents good discriminant reliability between a clinical sample of 91 patients with an eating disorder and a nonclinical sample of 102 participants. It shows good temporal stability. The present results are discussed considering the existent literature.