Translation and psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 (SATAQ-4) in college students

• Published in: Body image Vol. 45; pp. 172 - 182
• Main Authors: Ma, Jinghua, Wang, Kui, Thompson, J. Kevin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2023
• Subjects: Attitude; Body Image - psychology; Body image, Social attitudes; Female; Humans; Male; Psychometric properties; Psychometrics - methods; Reproducibility of Results; SATAQ-4; Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4; Students; Surveys and Questionnaires; Body image, Social attitudes; Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4; SATAQ-4; Psychometric properties
• ISSN: 1740-1445; 1873-6807
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2023.02.011

The current study aimed to translate the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 (SATAQ-4) into Mandarin Chinese and to examine its psychometric properties. In Study 1 (N = 842, 427 women, 415 men), exploratory factor analysis supported a 4-factor solution for the Mandarin Chinese SATAQ-4, namely Internalization: Thin/Low body fat, Internalization: Muscular/Athletic, Pressures: Family/Peers, and Pressures: Media. Evidence also supported the high internal consistency and convergent validity of the male-subject and female-subject versions of Mandarin Chinese SATAQ-4. In Study 2 (N = 497, 290 women), confirmatory factor analyses supported the previously found 4-factor model, after allowing correlation between residuals of three pairs of items. In Study 3 (N = 294, 129 women), we examined the 3-month test-retest reliability across gender, and the results showed satisfactory ICC for both women (ICC =0.53–0.79) and men (ICC =0.56–0.66). Taken together, the male-subject and female-subject versions of the Mandarin Chinese SATAQ-4 are reliable and valid in evaluating sociocultural attitudes towards appearance. •The study examined the psychometric properties of the Mandarin Chinese SATAQ-4.•The 4-factor structure of the Mandarin Chinese SATAQ-4 was confirmed among college women and men.•McDonald’s omega supported the internal consistency reliability of its scores.•The scale showed good convergent validity and acceptable test-retest reliability.