Development and validation of a male specific body checking questionnaire

Objective: Body checking may be an important behavioral consequence of body image disturbance. Despite the importance of body checking, few measurements of this construct exist, particularly for males. This study describes the development and validation of the Male Body Checking Questionnaire (MBCQ). Method: Convergent and divergent validity, factor structure, and reliability were tested in three separate samples of men and women. Results: Factor analyses suggested a reliable four-factor structure with evidence of a higher order global checking factor for men, but not women. The MBCQ demonstrated good concurrent and divergent validity. Short-term test-retest reliability was good with high internal consistency across time. Discussion: Interpretation of psychometrics and recommendations for subsequent research are discussed. The MBCQ is likely to be an appropriate tool for investigating body image-based pathology in males.