Factor structure and psychometric properties of the Body Perception Questionnaire-Short Form (BPQ-SF); The Persian version.

BACKGROUND

Body perception is considered an important physiological marker in physical and mental disorders, therefore, its valid and reliable quantification is indeed necessary. Due to the lack of a Persian version of an instrument with validated psychometric properties for evaluating body perception, this study aimed to investigate the factorial structure, reliability, and validity of body perception questionnaire-Short Form (BPQ-SF) among Iranian adults.

METHODS

A total of 748 participants (mean age = 31.74; 57%female) were included in the analysis. Participants were recruited using the online survey method. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed and concurrent validity was determined by computing Pearson's correlation coefficient between BPQ_SF, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), and somatization subscale of Symptom-Checklist-90 (SOM). Internal consistency (using Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega), and composite reliability were also evaluated.

RESULTS

The result of the CFA yielded three factors: Body Awareness, Subdiaphragmatic Reactivity, and Supradiaphragmatic Reactivity. Cronbach's alpha values for all BPQ_SF items were 0.94. Moreover, Concurrent validity between BPQ, SOM, and DASS was determined to be between 0.44 to 0.94. and had good internal consistency (McDonald's Omega range: .74-.93 Cronbach's alpha range: .76-.94).

CONCLUSIONS

The BPQ-SF demonstrated good psychometric properties among Iranians thus can be used to reliably assess body perception.