The validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults (BESAA) for children

BACKGROUND/AIM: Body esteem (BE) is defined as the self-evaluation of one’s own body or appearance. The Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults (BESAA) consists of three subscales: BE-appearance, BE-weight, and BE-attribution. Though initially developed for adolescents and adults, the use of the scale has recently increased in health-related research on children. This study aimed to assess the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the BESAA for children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The participants in the study were 4th grade children (aged 9–10 years) in Ankara, Turkey. The validity of the scale was evaluated through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and Spearman’s rho correlation coefficient, respectively. RESULTS: The Turkish version of the BESAA for children includes BE-weight, BE-appearance, and BE-attribution subscales. The scale demonstrated good model fit statistics (chi-square/df = 3.41, P < 0.001) and good internal consistency for BE-weight (α = 0.85), BE-appearance (α = 0.76), and BE-attribution (α = 0.69). According to our findings, test-retest reliability of the three subscales was in the moderate/acceptable range for children (r = 0.57–0.68, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The Turkish version of the BESAA can be used to measure BE in terms of appearance, weight, and attribution in children.