Body-Esteem Scale 1
Manual for the Body-Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults
Beverley K. Mendelson & Donna R. White
Concordia University
Morton J. Mendelson
McGill University
Mendelson, B. K., White, D. R., & Mendelson, M. J. (1997). Manual for the body-esteem scale
for adolescents and adults. (Res. Bull. 16, No. 2). Montreal: Concordia University.
This research was supported by Les Fonds pour la Formation des Chercheurs et l'Aide à la
Recherche, Gouvernement du Québec. Requests for reprints should be sent to Dr. Beverley K.
Mendelson, Centre for Research in Human Development, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West,
Montreal, Quebec, Canada H4B 1R6.
Body-Esteem Scale 2
Research has found high and robust correlations between global self-esteem and self-
evaluations of physical appearance across the lifespan (Harter, 1993). As well, self-evaluation of
physical appearance, or body esteem, is the only specific domain of self-esteem that has been
studied extensively in overweight individuals (see Mendelson, White, & Mendelson, 1996 for a
bibliography). As such, it is a construct that merits closer investigation.
Body esteem has typically been treated globally, whether measured by self-report
questionnaires (Gray, 1977; Harter, 1985, 1988; Mendelson & White, 1985), open-ended
interviews (Allon, 1979), or reactions to body-related words (Secord & Jourard, 1953). Yet there
may be "domains" of body esteem (Franzoi & Shields, 1984). As well, feelings about one's
weight may be differentiated from feelings about one's general appearance, and the
embarrassment caused by social stigma attached to overweight (Allon, 1979) may be
independent of other aspects of body esteem. As well, there may be important sex differences in
the way individuals evaluate their bodies. Typically, women hold more stringent standards for
their bodies than do men, and, if they fail to reach these high standards, their evaluations of their
bodies might suffer.
The purpose of this manual is to outline the evolution of the Body-Esteem Scale for
Children (1982) into its present form as a scale suitable for adolescents and adults. The original
24-item scale (Mendelson & White, 1982) used a yes/no format to tap children's affective
evaluations of their bodies. The background as well as data on the reliability and validity of that
scale are outlined elsewhere (see Research Bulletin, 1993-94, Concordia University), and the
scale was used in two studies (Mendelson & White, 1982, 1985).
In a subsequent study (Mendelson, White, & Mendelson, 1996), four items were dropped
from the original measure and the 20-item scale was administered to a large number of
youngsters between 8 and 15 years old, some of whom were tested twice over a 2-year period. A
factor analysis with oblique rotation was applied to the data, and a three-factor solution was
adopted, although two items were not included because they did not exceed a loading of .5 on
any of the factors. The factor analysis suggested that body esteem is comprised of three factors:
BE-Appearance (general feelings about appearance), represented by 12 items; BE-Weight
(weight satisfaction), represented by 3 items; and BE-Attribution (others' evaluations about one's
body and appearance), represented by 3 items (see Research Bulletin, 1993-94, Concordia
University, for details).
However, further modifications to the scale were still necessary. The yes/no response
format, originally more suitable for children, was changed to a 5-point Likert scale, with
respondents asked to express how often they agreed with statements, ranging from "never" to
"always." The 5-point scale is more robust than the original dichotomous format and provides
data that more fully meet the assumptions of factor analysis. Both the BE-Weight and the BE-
Attribution subscales, which had only three items each, were increased to 9 items, in order to
increase the validity and reliability of the subscales. The BE-Appearance subscale remained
intact at 12 items. Some of the items were re-written to make them age-appropriate for
adolescents and adults. Finally, the items on the expanded scale were re-ordered.
The newer, 30-item version of the Body-Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults Scale
was then given to a large developmental sample, as described below. The Rosenberg Self-
Body-Esteem Scale 3
Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) or the Global Self-Worth subscale of the Self-Perception Profile
for College Students (Neeman & Harter, 1986) was also administered to the participants. The
factor structure of the Body-Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults could be confirmed for
adolescents and young adults. We were then able to assess how the different body esteem
factors related to global self-esteem as well as to age, sex, and relative weight. In line with
previous research, we hypothesized that women would have lower body esteem than men and
that relative weight would uniquely affect only weight satisfaction. Although global self-esteem
seems to be highly related to unidimensional self-evaluations of physical appearance across the
life-span (Harter, 1993), we hypothesized that global self-esteem would be more highly related
to general feelings about appearance than to weight satisfaction or to others' evaluations about
one's body and appearance.
Method
Participants. The participants were drawn from English-speaking, elementary schools,
high schools, colleges and universities in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The sample included 1,334
participants (761 females; 571 males) between 12 and 25 years old (M = 16.8 years).
Procedures. The Body-Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults which assesses
participants' attitudes and feelings about their bodies and appearance, contained 30 items (e.g., "
I like what I look like in pictures"; "I am satisfied with my weight"; " My looks help me get
dates"). Respondents indicate their degree of agreement using a 5-point Likert scale from 0
(Never) to 4 (Always). The negatively worded items were reversed scored. In addition, self-
esteem was measured with the Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1979) in two of the samples and
with the Global Self-Worth subscale of the Self-Perception Profile for College Students
(Neemann & Harter, 1986) in one of them. The participant's relative weight was taken at the end
of the study, but that was not convenient for 107 older adolescents, who, nonetheless, self-
reported their height and weight (cf. Stunkard & Albaum, 1981). Body mass index was then
computed for each participant as weight (kg) divided by squared height (m2).
Results
Body Esteem: Factor analysis. A factor analysis with oblique rotation was used to
determine if the Body-Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults tapped more than one construct. 1
Oblique rotation was used because previous work had shown that aspects of body esteem were
intercorrelated (Mendelson et al., 1996). Five items with problematic wording were dropped.
The analysis yielded a four-factor solution, but it was rejected because the fourth factor
contained only two items. The analysis was recomputed without the seven items and the
recomputed analysis yielded the three-factor solution shown in Table 1, which shows the factor
loadings ( > .40) for the retained items.
1
Of the 1,334 participants, 1,227 provided complete data for the original factor analysis of 30
items. However, data from additional particpants could be used, when items were dropped for
subsequent analyses. The final factor analysis was applied to the data from 1,240 participants
who answered all 23 of the relevant items. The Cronbach alpha's, reported below, were based on
varying numbers of participants who answered all the items retained for each factor (Nbe-appearance =
1308; Nbe-weight = 1312; Nbe-attribution = 1283).
Body-Esteem Scale 4
_______________
Table 1 about here
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The first factor, BE-Appearance (general feelings about appearance) consisted of 10
items and accounted for 49.3% of the variance. The mean of the items was computed to form a
BE-Appearance score, which had high internal consistency: Cronbach's alpha = .92; item to total
rs (1306) = .56 to .79 (Mr = .71), ps < .01.
The second factor, BE-Weight (weight satisfaction) consisted of eight items and
accounted for 10.4% of the variance. The mean of the items was computed to form a BE-Weight
score, which had high internal consistency: Cronbach's alpha = .94; item to total rs (1310) = .72
to .85 (Mr = .78), ps < .01.
The third factor, BE-Attribution (others' evaluations about one's body and appearance)
consisted of five items and accounted for 5.9% of the variance. The mean of the items was
computed to form a BE-Attribution score, which had high internal consistency: Cronbach's alpha
= .81; item to total rs(1281) = .48 to .72 (Mr = .62), ps < .01.
The final 23-item version of the Body-Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults is shown
in Appendix 1 (for negatively starred items in Table 1, the scoring is reversed).
Norms. The mean for the appropriate items forms the subscale scores. The response
format ranges from 0 (Never) to 4 (Always). The higher the score for a particular subscale, the
more positive is the respondent's body esteem on that dimension. Subscale means and standard
deviations for males and females combined and at each age are presented in Table 2. Overall,
women scored lower than men on each body-esteem subscale, Fs(1,1332) = 20.68 to 209.03, ps
< .001, which provides construct validation of the scale.
_______________
Table 2 about here
_______________
Correlations and regressions. Correlations of the three subscales with age, sex, and
relative weight are shown in Table 3. The zero-order correlations show that BE-Attribution is
significantly correlated with age, sex, and relative weight while BE-Appearance and BE-Weight
are significantly correlated only with sex and relative weight.
_______________
Table 3 about here
_______________
To assess how each body esteem factor may be related to age, sex, and relative weight,
each body-esteem subscale was subjected to a separate hierarchical multiple regression. The
three main effects (age, sex, and relative weight) were entered as a set into the regression
equation first, followed by the three interaction terms (Age x Sex, Age x Relative Weight, and
Sex x Relative Weight). The Age x Sex x Relative Weight interaction was entered last. Relative
weight inversely predicted the three body-esteem subscales (ps < .001), but the part correlation
was greater for BE-Weight (-.37) than for BE-Appearance (-.21) or BE-Attribution (-.16).
Body-Esteem Scale 5
Follow-up analyses examined the partial correlation of each body-esteem subscale with relative
weight, controlling for the other two subscales. The negative partial correlation was significant
only for BE-Weight, rpartial(1332) = -.34, p < .01; that is, BE-Weight was related to relative weight
independent of the other two subscales, but the other subscales were not independently related to
relative weight.
Test-retest reliability. The Body-Esteem Scale for Adults and Adolescents was given to
a sample of 131 junior college students (84 women and 47 men : M = 18.6 years) and 97 of these
students (61 women and 36 men) were retested 3 months later. The test-retest correlations were
high (BE-Appearance: r(95) = .89; BE-Weight: (r(95) = . 92; and BE-Attribution: r(95) = . 83),
which supports the reliability of the measures.
Convergent validity. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) or the Global
Self-Worth subscale of the Self-Perception Profile for College Students (Neeman & Harter,
1986) were administered in order to assess the convergent validity of the Body-Esteem Scale for
Adolescents and Adults. Both of these measures are general measures of self-esteem, with a
high score indicating good self-esteem and a low score indicating low self-esteem.
We hypothesized that global self-esteem would be more highly related to general feelings
about appearance than to weight satisfaction or to others' evaluations about one's body and
appearance. Partial correlations between each body-esteem subscale with the self-esteem scores
on the Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1979) or the Global Self-Worth subscale of the Self-
Perception Profile for College Students (Neemann & Harter, 1986), partialling out the other
body-esteem subscales for males and females are shown in Table 4. At almost every age, for
both males and females, BE-Appearance was partially correlated with global self-esteem
independent of the other two body-esteem subscales, whereas the same was not true of BE-
Weight and BE-Attribution.
_______________
Table 4 about here
_______________
Discussion
Thus, the 23-item Body-Esteem Scale is an easy-to-administer, psychometrically sound
instrument that taps three aspects of body esteem in adolescents and adults: general feelings
about appearance, weight satisfaction, and others' evaluations about one's body and appearance.
The present study illustrates that the scale is a valid and reliable measure of body esteem. Since
it was administered to a wide age range, the scale can be confidently given to children as young
as 12 and well into adulthood.
This study also clearly demonstrated the unique relationship between global self-esteem
and feelings about appearance, independent of weight satisfaction and others' evaluations of
one's body and appearance. Most importantly, the results reinforce the belief that, regardless of
actual weight, global self-esteem is uniquely related to positive feelings about appearance.
Harter (1985) has indicated that global self-worth reflects the extent to which one is
successful or competent in domains that one considers important. However, self-evaluation of
physical appearance may be related to global self-worth whether or not individuals claim that
Body-Esteem Scale 6
they value physical appearance (Harter, 1993). Physical appearance may remain a critical aspect
of general self-esteem because it is usually evaluated by others before judgments are made about
competence in other domains.
Body-Esteem Scale 7
References
Allon, N. (1979). Self-perceptions of the stigma of overweight in relationship to weight losing
patterns. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 32, 470-480.
Franzoi, S. L. & Shields, S. A. (1984). The body-esteem scale: Multidimensional structure and
sex differences in a college population. Journal of Personality Assessment, 48, 173-178.
Gray, H. (1977). Social aspects of body image: Perception of normalcy of weight and affect of
college undergraduates. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 45, 1035-1040.
Harter, S. (1985). Manual for the Self-Perception Profile for Children. Denver, CO: University
of Denver Press.
Harter, S. (1988). Manual for the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents. Denver, CO:
University of Denver Press.
Harter, S. (1993). Causes and consequences of low self-esteem in children and adolescents. In
R. F. Baumeister (Ed.), Self-esteem: The puzzle of low self-regard (pp. 87–116). New
York: Plenum.
Mendelson, B. K., & White, D. R. (1982). Relation between body-esteem and self-esteem of
obese and normal children. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 54, 899-905.
Mendelson, B. K., & White, D. R. (1985). Development of self-body-esteem in overweight
youngsters. Developmental Psychology, 21, 90-96.
Mendelson, B. K., & White, D. R. (1993-94). Manual for the Body-Esteem Scale for Children.
Concordia University, Research Bulletin, Vol. XII, No. 02.
Mendelson, B. K., White, D. R., & Mendelson, M. J. (1996). Self-esteem and body esteem:
Effects of gender, age, and weight. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 17,
321-347.
Neeman, J. & Harter, S. (1986). Manual for the Self-Perception Profile for College Students.
Unpublished manuscript, University of Denver.
Rosenberg, M. (1979). Conceiving the self. New York: Basic Books.
Secord, P. F., & Jourard, S. M. (1953). The appraisal of body-cathexis: Body cathexis and self.
Journal of Consulting Psychology, 17, 343–347.
Stunkard, A. J.,, & Albaum, J. M. (1981). The accuracy of self-reported weights. American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 34. 1593-1599.
Body-Esteem Scale 8
Table 1
Factor Loadings ( > .40) for Body-Esteem Items
BE-APPEARANCE: 10 items (Alpha = .92)
11. * I wish I looked like someone else. .86
7. * There are lots of things I'd change about my looks if I could. .80
9. * I wish I looked better. .77
13. * My looks upset me. .76
17. * I feel ashamed of how I look. .71
21. * I worry about the way I look. .69
6. I like what I see when I look in the mirror. .51
23. I'm looking as nice as I'd like to. .50
15. I'm pretty happy about the way I look. .50
1. I like what I look like in pictures .42
BE-WEIGHT: 8 items (Alpha = .94)
8. I am satisfied with my weight. .96
10. I really like what I weigh. .92
16. I feel I weight the right amount for my height. .89
19. * My weight makes me unhappy. .77
4. * I am preoccupied with trying to change my body weight.
.73
18. * Weighing myself depresses me. .69
22. I think I have a good body. .61
3. I'm proud of my body. .58
BE-ATTRIBUTION: 5 items (Alpha = .81)
2. Other people consider me good looking. .83
20. My looks help me to get dates. .77
12. People my own age like my looks. .74
5. I think my appearance would help me get a job. .64
14. I'm as nice looking as most people. .61
* a negative item that must be reversed scored
Body-Esteem Scale 9
Table 2
Means and Standard Deviations)of Body-Esteem Subscales for Males (and Females at each age.
Sex
Female Male
Age Mean SD N Mean SD N
(a) BE-Appearance
12 - 13 2.2 1.0 42 2.9 0.7 48
14 2.1 0.9 85 2.9 0.7 65
15 2.0 1.0 110 2.8 0.9 54
16 2.0 0.8 98 2.9 0.7 95
17 2.1 0.8 92 2.9 0.7 101
18 2.3 0.8 115 2.9 0.7 76
19 2.3 0.9 88 2.6 0.6 49
20 - 25 2.5 0.7 133 2.7 0.7 83
Total 2.2 0.9 763 2.8 0.7 571
(b) BE-Weight
12 - 13 2.2 1.2 42 3.2 0.8 48
14 2.1 1.2 85 3.1 0.8 65
15 2.0 1.1 110 2.6 0.9 54
16 1.9 1.1 98 3.0 0.8 95
17 1.8 1.1 92 3.0 0.8 101
18 2.1 1.0 115 2.7 0.9 76
19 2.2 1.2 88 2.7 0.9 49
20 - 25 2.3 1.0 133 2.7 0.8 83
Total 2.1 1.1 763 2.9 0.8 571
(c) BE-Attribution
12 - 13 1.8 0.9 42 2.4 0.8 48
14 1.9 0.8 85 2.1 0.9 65
15 2.0 0.8 110 2.1 1.1 54
16 2.1 0.7 98 2.5 0.8 95
17 2.2 0.8 92 2.4 0.7 101
18 2.2 0.7 115 2.4 0.7 76
19 2.2 0.8 88 2.4 0.7 49
20 - 25 2.5 0.7 133 2.4 0.8 83
Total 2.1 0.8 763 2.3 0.8 571
Body-Esteem Scale 10
Table 3
Correlations of Body-Esteem Subscale with Age, Sex, and Relative Weight
Subscale Age Sex Relative Weight
BE-Appearance .03 .37** -.21**
BE-Weight -.03 .37** -.38**
BE-Attribution .15** .13** -.15**
** p < .01
Body-Esteem Scale 11
Table 4
Partial Correlations Between Each Body-Esteem Subscale with a Self-Esteem Measure,
Controlling for the Other Body Esteem Subscales, for Males and Females
Age SEa df BE-App BE-Wt BE-Att
(a) Males
13 RSE 43 .31* -.04 .09
14 RSE 61 .38** .09 .04
15 RSE 50 .39** .05 .06
16 RSE 89 .44** .11 .06
17 RSE 68 .28* .35** .42**
17 SEGLOB 28 .52** .03 .03
18 SEGLOB 36 .61** .09 -.05
19 SEGLOB 18 .71** -.16 -.32
20-25 RSE 50 -.17 .07 -.08
(b) Females
13 RSE 39 .63** .36* -.06
14 RSE 82 .47** -.04 .30**
15 RSE 105 .54** -.02 -.01
16 RSE 91 .51** .23* -.06
17 RSE 51 .53** -.00 .11
17 SEGLOB 27 .43* .18 .08
18 SEGLOB 44 .69** -.19 .12
19 SEGLOB 23 .76** .09 -.38
19 RSE 18 -.21 .32 .11
20-25 RSE 94 -.17 -.03 .19
Note: * p < .05; ** p < .01; partial correlations were negative in some cases, but the zero-order
correlations were all positive.
a
SE = Self-esteem measure; RSE = Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale; SEGLOB = Global Self-
Worth Subscale of the Self-Perception Profile for College Students
Body-Esteem Scale 12
Appendix 1
Body-Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults
Beverley K. Mendelson, Donna R. White, and Morton J. Mendelson
Indicate how often you agree with the following statements ranging from "never" (0) to "always" (4).
Circle the appropriate number beside each statement.
Some-
Never Seldom times Often Always
1. I like what I look like in pictures. 0 1 2 3 4
2. Other people consider me good looking. 0 1 2 3 4
3. I'm proud of my body. 0 1 2 3 4
4. I am preoccupied with trying to change my body weight. 0 1 2 3 4
5. I think my appearance would help me get a job. 0 1 2 3 4
6. I like what I see when I look in the mirror. 0 1 2 3 4
7. There are lots of things I'd change about my looks if I 0 1 2 3 4
could.
8. I am satisfied with my weight. 0 1 2 3 4
9. I wish I looked better. 0 1 2 3 4
10. I really like what I weigh. 0 1 2 3 4
11. I wish I looked like someone else. 0 1 2 3 4
12. People my own age like my looks. 0 1 2 3 4
13. My looks upset me. 0 1 2 3 4
14. I'm as nice looking as most people. 0 1 2 3 4
15. I'm pretty happy about the way I look. 0 1 2 3 4
16. I feel I weigh the right amount for my height. 0 1 2 3 4
17. I feel ashamed of how I look. 0 1 2 3 4
18. Weighing myself depresses me. 0 1 2 3 4
19. My weight makes me unhappy 0 1 2 3 4
20. My looks help me to get dates. 0 1 2 3 4
21. I worry about the way I look. 0 1 2 3 4
22. I think I have a good body. 0 1 2 3 4
23. I'm looking as nice as I'd like to. 0 1 2 3 4
Three subscales: BE-Appearance (1, 6, 7*, 9*, 11*, 13*, 15, 17*, 21*, 23); BE-Weight (3, 4*, 8, 10, 16,
18*, 19*, 22); and BE-Attribution (2, 5, 12, 14, 20). [* negative items, which must be recoded for
scoring by reversing the scale (i.e., 0 = 4, 1 = 3, 2 = 2, 3 = 1, 4 = 0).]
Address correspondence, including requests for a copy of the manual for the Body-Esteem Scale for
Adolescents and Adults, to Dr. Beverley K. Mendelson at <[email protected]>.
