Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese body shape questionnaire short form for assessing eating disorder symptoms among university students

BackgroundBody shape concerns have emerged in eating disorders as a public health issue among adolescents worldwide. The psychometric properties of the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) remain underexplored in Chinese university students with eating disorder symptoms. This study aims to evaluate the re...

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Main Authors: Zeng Gao, Jing Zhao, Xi Liu, Haitao Wang, Miaoling Zhang, Han Yuan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Public Health
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1571144/full
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author Zeng Gao
Zeng Gao
Jing Zhao
Xi Liu
Haitao Wang
Miaoling Zhang
Han Yuan
author_facet Zeng Gao
Zeng Gao
Jing Zhao
Xi Liu
Haitao Wang
Miaoling Zhang
Han Yuan
author_sort Zeng Gao
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundBody shape concerns have emerged in eating disorders as a public health issue among adolescents worldwide. The psychometric properties of the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) remain underexplored in Chinese university students with eating disorder symptoms. This study aims to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the BSQ in the context of eating disorder symptoms among Chinese university students.MethodsA stratified random sample of 858 Chinese university students (age, mean ± SD = 19.91 ± 1.18) participated in the study. The surveys comprised the BSQ and the EDE-QS to assess body shape concerns with eating disorder symptoms. Eating disorder symptoms were defined as scores equal to or greater than 15 on the EDE-QS.ResultsThe Chinese version of the BSQ demonstrated strong internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.92) and robust construct validity. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original single-factor structure with satisfactory fit indices (Average Variance Extracted = 0.58, Composite Reliability = 0.92, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin = 0.92, Normed Fit Index = 0.92, Goodness of Fit Index = 0.91, Comparative Fit Index = 0.93, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.09, Standardized Root Mean Square Residual = 0.03, Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.96). The BSQ showed significant correlations with the EDE-QS (p < 0.01).ConclusionThe Chinese version of the BSQ demonstrates strong psychometric properties among university students with eating disorder symptoms, supporting its use as a reliable and valid assessment tool in the Chinese population.
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spelling doaj-art-24d5601a9ffc439298d7170e44fb30a42025-08-20T03:12:38ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652025-05-011310.3389/fpubh.2025.15711441571144Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese body shape questionnaire short form for assessing eating disorder symptoms among university studentsZeng Gao0Zeng Gao1Jing Zhao2Xi Liu3Haitao Wang4Miaoling Zhang5Han Yuan6Department of Postdoctoral, School of Marxism, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, ChinaPhysical Education Department, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, ChinaCollege of Educational Science, Guangdong Preschool Normal College in Maoming, Maoming, ChinaOffice of Social Science and Humanities, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, ChinaDepartment of Physical Education, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of KoreaSchool of Physical Education, Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang, ChinaDepartment of Physical Education, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of KoreaBackgroundBody shape concerns have emerged in eating disorders as a public health issue among adolescents worldwide. The psychometric properties of the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) remain underexplored in Chinese university students with eating disorder symptoms. This study aims to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the BSQ in the context of eating disorder symptoms among Chinese university students.MethodsA stratified random sample of 858 Chinese university students (age, mean ± SD = 19.91 ± 1.18) participated in the study. The surveys comprised the BSQ and the EDE-QS to assess body shape concerns with eating disorder symptoms. Eating disorder symptoms were defined as scores equal to or greater than 15 on the EDE-QS.ResultsThe Chinese version of the BSQ demonstrated strong internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.92) and robust construct validity. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original single-factor structure with satisfactory fit indices (Average Variance Extracted = 0.58, Composite Reliability = 0.92, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin = 0.92, Normed Fit Index = 0.92, Goodness of Fit Index = 0.91, Comparative Fit Index = 0.93, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.09, Standardized Root Mean Square Residual = 0.03, Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.96). The BSQ showed significant correlations with the EDE-QS (p < 0.01).ConclusionThe Chinese version of the BSQ demonstrates strong psychometric properties among university students with eating disorder symptoms, supporting its use as a reliable and valid assessment tool in the Chinese population.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1571144/fullbody shape questionnaireeating disorder symptomsbody shape concernspsychometric evaluationreliability and validityuniversity students
spellingShingle Zeng Gao
Zeng Gao
Jing Zhao
Xi Liu
Haitao Wang
Miaoling Zhang
Han Yuan
Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese body shape questionnaire short form for assessing eating disorder symptoms among university students
Frontiers in Public Health
body shape questionnaire
eating disorder symptoms
body shape concerns
psychometric evaluation
reliability and validity
university students
title Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese body shape questionnaire short form for assessing eating disorder symptoms among university students
title_full Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese body shape questionnaire short form for assessing eating disorder symptoms among university students
title_fullStr Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese body shape questionnaire short form for assessing eating disorder symptoms among university students
title_full_unstemmed Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese body shape questionnaire short form for assessing eating disorder symptoms among university students
title_short Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese body shape questionnaire short form for assessing eating disorder symptoms among university students
title_sort psychometric evaluation of the chinese body shape questionnaire short form for assessing eating disorder symptoms among university students
topic body shape questionnaire
eating disorder symptoms
body shape concerns
psychometric evaluation
reliability and validity
university students
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1571144/full
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