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The Body Uneasiness Test (BUT): Development and validation of a new body image assessment scale

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Abstract

Objective: To investigate the psychometric properties of the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT), a 71-item self-report questionnaire that consists of two parts: BUT·A which measures weight phobia, body image concerns, avoidance, compulsive self-monitoring, detachment and estrangement feelings towards one’s own body (depersonalization); and BUT·B which looks at specific worries about particular body parts or functions. Methods: We recruited a clinical sample of 531 subjects (491 females) suffering from eating disorders and a general population sample of 3273 subjects (2016 females) with BMI <25 and Eating Attitudes Test-26 scores under the cut-off 20. Results: The exploratory and confirmatory analyses confirmed a structural five-factor model for BUT·A and an eight-factor model for BUT·B. Internal consistency was satisfactory. The test-retest correlation coefficients were highly significant. Concurrent validity with other tests (Eating Disorder Inventory, EDI-2; Eating Attitudes Test, EAT-26; Symptom Check List, SCL-90R and Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, SEI) was evaluated. Normative values for BUT scores in non-clinical samples of normal-weight non eating disordered subjects, from adolescence to old age, males and females, were calculated. The differences between males and females were highly significant, above all in the 18–39-age range. As for the comparison between women with eating disorders and controls, the results demonstrated a good predictive validity for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Conclusions: The BUT is psychometrically sound. It can be a valuable tool for the screening and the clinical assessment of abnormal body image attitudes and eating disorders.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Eating Disorders Unit, University of Rome La Sapienza, Via dei Sabelli 108, 00185, Roma, Italy

    Massimo Cuzzolaro

  2. Department of Philosophical Research, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy

    G. Vetrone

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Italy

    G. Marano

  4. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, ON, Canada

    P.E. Garfinkel

Authors
  1. Massimo Cuzzolaro
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  2. G. Vetrone
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  3. G. Marano
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  4. P.E. Garfinkel
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Correspondence to Massimo Cuzzolaro.

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Cuzzolaro, M., Vetrone, G., Marano, G. et al. The Body Uneasiness Test (BUT): Development and validation of a new body image assessment scale. Eat Weight Disord 11, 1–13 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03327738

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03327738

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