Embodiment and Psychological Health in Adolescence. 1. Development and Validation of a Brief 12-item Questionnaire to Measure the Experience of Embodiment
Background. Adolescence is characterized by large bodily changes and a heightened body-focus. It is also a sensitive period for the onset of various forms of psychopathology. Previous longitudinal studies have shown that body dissatisfaction is a predictor of disordered eating, non-suicidal self-in...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Lund University Library
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Journal for Person-Oriented Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.lub.lu.se/jpor/article/view/27576 |
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| Summary: | Background. Adolescence is characterized by large bodily changes and a heightened body-focus. It is also a sensitive period for the onset of various forms of psychopathology. Previous longitudinal studies have shown that body dissatisfaction is a predictor of disordered eating, non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), and depression among adolescents. Body dissatisfaction, however, only represents one aspect of bodily self-experience. Another aspect is embodiment, defined as the anchoring of one’s identity in bodily self-experience. Research in this area, however, has been hampered by the lack of a psychometrically sound measure of embodiment that can be administered to adolescents. The purpose of the present study was to develop a brief measure of embodiment suitable for young adolescents.
Methods. A 12-item Embodiment Scale (ES-12) was developed and underwent confirmatory factor analysis and tests of internal consistency, test-retest reliability, measure invariance, subscale inter-correlations, and construct validity. Incremental validity was analyzed to see if the ES-12 could predict disordered eating, non-suicidal self-injury, depression, and anxiety, above and beyond that of a measure of body dissatisfaction.
Results. The ES-12 was found to exhibit robust psychometric properties, such as a distinct three-factor structure, strong internal consistency, and good test-retest reliability. It demonstrated good convergent and divergent validity, indicating that its three subscales—Harmonious Body, Disharmonious Body, and Body for Others—are significantly associated with a range of psychological health issues in adolescents. In addition, the ES-12 demonstrated consistent incremental validity by predicting disordered eating, NSSI, depression, and anxiety, beyond that of a measure of body dissatisfaction.
Conclusions. The results suggest that ES-12 is a useful instrument in research on the experience of embodiment among adolescents.
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| ISSN: | 2002-0244 2003-0177 |