Assessing the internal structure of the Body Esteem Scale (BES) in a female population: a factor analysis study

Abstract

The body esteem scale is a 35-item self-report questionnaire prepared to measure a person's beliefs about the body. This questionnaire consists of three subscales of sexual attractiveness, concern about weight and physical condition. This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Body Esteem Questionnaire on women. The research method was a correlation. The statistical population was all Iranian women between 18 and 50 in 2021. Five hundred fifty people were selected by the available sampling method and answered questionnaires about body esteem (BES-1986), Rosenberg self-esteem (RSE-1965), and women's sexual inhibition and arousal scale (SES-W-2006). The reliability of the questionnaire was calculated using the internal consistency method. The results of reliability calculation using Cronbach's alpha coefficient were higher than 0.70. Exploratory factor analysis also showed that the three-factor solution has a better fit, whose factors are: sexual attractiveness, concern about weight, and physical condition. Construct validity with confirmatory factor analysis showed that the three-factor model of the scale has a good fit in Iranian women's society. Based on the results of this research, the body esteem scale has adequate reliability and validity and can be used in research and clinical interventions.