Abstract
Pregnant women undergo many physiological and psychological changes which can lead to body image disturbances and disordered eating. This study aimed to develop and validate a new scale measuring body image disturbances and disordered eating. The Maternal Body Image and Eating Behaviors Scale (MBIEB-S) was developed based on a multidimensional body image framework, qualitative insights into maternal body image and disordered eating, and limitations of existing instruments. In an online survey, 350 primiparous pregnant women completed the 72-item MBIEB-S. An exploratory factorial analysis yielded a six-factor model (50 items): Body Dissatisfaction, Overeating, Healthy Eating, Eating Restriction, Physical Exercise, and Avoidance. The scale has good convergent validity with related constructs (concerns about weight, shape and eating, eating restriction, and antenatal depression) and shows good criterion validity with relevant constructs (history of eating disorders and antenatal depression). The MBIEB-S measures key dimensions related to body image and eating behaviors during pregnancy, some of which may adversely affect both maternal and fetal health.
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Marie-Michelle Blouin, Valerie Simard, Julie Achim and Dominique Meilleur contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation and data collection were performed by Marie-Michelle Blouin. Analysis were performed by Marie-Michelle Blouin, Valerie Simard and Olivier Laverdière. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Marie-Michelle Blouin and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Blouin, MM., Simard, V., Achim, J. et al. Development and validation of a new body image and eating behaviors measure for pregnant women: the maternal body image and eating behaviors scale. Curr Psychol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05926-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05926-5