Gratitude model of body appreciation
Description
Gratitude. The Gratitude Questionnaire-6 (GQ-6; McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, 2002) consists of six items that assess experiences and expressions of gratitude in daily life (e.g., “I have so much in life to be grateful for”). Participants indicated agreement with each item using a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Item scores were reversed where necessary and averaged to arrive at a total score. Contingent self-worth. The Contingencies of Self-Worth Scale (CSW; Crocker, Luhtanen, Cooper, & Bouvrette, 2003) is a 35-item scale that assesses seven different domains in which people can invest their self-worth. Only the 5-item Appearance and the 5-item Approval from Others subscales were used in the present study. Participants indicated agreement with its items (e.g., “When I think I look attractive, I feel good about myself.” “My self-esteem depends on the opinions others hold of me”) using a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Item responses were averaged, with higher scores reflecting the importance of appearance or the approval of others to participants’ sense of self-worth. Social comparison. Two subscales from the Body, Eating, and Exercise Comparison Orientation Measure (BEECOM; Fitzsimmons-Craft et al.,2012) were used to assess frequency of social comparisons. The Body Comparison subscale (e.g., “I compare my body shape to that of my peers”) and the Eating Comparison subscale (“During meals, I compare what I am eating to what others are eating”) each consist of six items that are rated on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (never) to 7 (always). Item responses were averaged, with higher scores indicating a greater tendency to make comparisons in the respective domains. Body appreciation. The 13-item Body Appreciation Scale (BAS; Avalos et al., 2005) was used to assess participants’ acceptance of and appreciation for their bodies. Its items (e.g., “I take a positive attitude toward my body”) are rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). Item responses are averaged, with higher scores reflecting greater body appreciation. Intuitive eating. The 21-item Intuitive Eating Scale (IES; Tylka, 2006) was used to assess participants’ tendency to eat intuitively via granting oneself unconditional permission to eat (e.g., “If I am craving a certain food, I allow myself to have it”), eating for physical rather than emotional reasons (e.g., “I use food to help me soothe my negative emotions”; reverse-scored), and relying on internal hunger and satiety cues (e.g., “I trust my body to tell me how much to eat”). Items are rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Scores were reversed where necessary and averaged to create a total score, with higher scores indicating higher levels of intuitive eating.