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Body Image Quality of Life Inventory: cross-national study in college students from four different countries

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Abstract

Purpose

This study was aimed to examine the psychometric proprieties of the Body Image Quality of Life Inventory (BIQLI) among Brazilian, Portuguese, Mozambican, and Italian college students.

Methods

A total of 1630 subjects (Brazilians = 446; Portuguese = 480, Mozambicans = 360, and Italians = 344) completed the Portuguese (Brazilian, Portuguese, and Mozambican students) and the Italian versions (Italian students) of the BIQLI for measuring the effects of body image on one’s quality of life. Psychometric testing included confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), discriminant and convergent validity, internal consistency, and composite reliability. The cross-national invariance of the BIQLI was assessed by multi-group analysis using ΔCFI. Moreover, the global score of the BIQLI for all countries was calculated by an algorithm and compared using the Welch’s ANOVA and the Games–Howell post-test (α = 5%).

Results

CFA showed an inadequate fit of unifactorial model of the BIQLI. Therefore, an alternative model comprising nine first-order factors and one second-order factor was proposed and evaluated. This new model showed adequate fit in all samples, despite some limitations that were found with respect to its convergent and discriminant validity. The alternative BIQLI model was invariant among countries. Global scores for the influence of body image on quality of life were significantly different across countries, with the Italians presenting the lowest scores.

Conclusions

The BIQLI factorial model found in this study represents a reliable and valid alternative to its original structure for the assessment of the effect of body image on college students’ perceived quality of life. This model must be further tested in other populations.

Level of evidence

Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP; Grant #2014/03093-2, #2015/00228-7), National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPQ; grant #142315/2014-1) and Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES; Finance Code 001) by financial support. Furthermore, we would like to thank Filipa Costa, Maria Alexandra Costa, Andreia Caldeira and Bianca Gonzalez Martins for their contribution to the data collection process. We also acknowledge the support of the William James Center for Research, which is funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT; grant UID/PSI/04810/2013).

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Correspondence to Juliana Alvares Duarte Bonini Campos.

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On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of each country (School of Pharmaceutical Sciences-Brazil; Lisbon School of Nursing-Portugal; College of Educational Sciences and Psychology-Mozambique; and Rectoria of Università Cattolica-Italy).

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Informed consent was obtained from all the students before they were included in the sample of the study.

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da Silva, W.R., Pimenta, F., Zaffaroni, L. et al. Body Image Quality of Life Inventory: cross-national study in college students from four different countries. Eat Weight Disord 25, 1079–1088 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-019-00732-6

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