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Grupo de investigación sobre aplicaciones de la realidad virtual en Psicología clínica. Universidad de BarcelonaDepartamento / UB / |
Miembros
del equipo |
The Body Image Assessment Software (BIAS) evaluates body-image distortions and body dissatisfaction via the on-screen presentation of a scale image of the patient which can be modified by her in its different components. The BIAS displays side and frontal views of a scale female human figure, proportional to the size of the patient. The image can be adjusted by modifying independently six body parts (head, arms, breast, waist, hip and legs) in the frontal view, and five body parts in the side view (head, breast, waist, hip and legs), using the computer mouse. The patient’s scale body image is generated by entering her objective measures in a data base. The software proposes two visual tasks, which can be administered together or independently. In the first, patient is asked to modify several frontal and side body parts in order to make the figure as similar as possible to her real body image. In the second task patient modifies frontal and side body parts to create a figure representing her ideal body image. The discrepancy between her real and perceived body size provides information about her degree of perceptual distortion. The discrepancy between her perceived body size and her ideal body size provides information about her degree of body image dissatisfaction. The BIAS is economical, rapid and easy to apply. It allows the evaluation of body size distortion and body dissatisfaction by modifying a scale figure of the patient. It also allows independent distortion of different parts of the body and provides holistic feedback on the body image. A further advantage is that it can be run on any computer that has Windows and Microsoft Access or Microsoft Access RunTime, and the data can be exported to applications such as SPSS and Excel. Thus, the strong points of the software are its accessibility and ability to generate a female figure to scale that represents the real silhouette of the patient. Recently, we have analysed psychometrical properties of BIAS. The BIAS was administered to 197 (a hundred ninety seven) psychology students at the University of Barcelona. Moreover, the students filled up the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), the Body Dissatisfaction Scale of the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI-2-BD) and a test of silhouettes (the Body Image Assessment-Revised, BIA-R). Results obtained show good validity. The correlations among the level of body dissatisfaction measured with the BIAS and all other measures of body dissatisfaction: Body Shape Questionnaire (r = 0,687; p < 0,001), Body Dissatisfaction Scale of the Eating Disorder Inventory (r = 0,641; p < 0,001) and the Body Dissatisfaction Scale of the Body Image Assessment-Revised (r = 0,721; p < 0,001) are positive and significant. In the same way, the correlation between body image distortion measured with the BIAS and the Body Image Distortion Scale of the BIA-R is positive and significant (r = 0,397; p < 0,001). Moreover, the BIAS is able to discriminate between people who are in risk of having an ED (score obtained in the EAT-26 over 20) and people that are not in risk of having an ED (score obtained in the EAT-26 below 20). People who are in risk of having an ED show more body image distortion (t = -2,239; p = 0,046) and body image dissatisfaction (t = -3,214; p = 0,008). The BIAS has also shown a very high reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha = 0, 8528). These results show that BIAS has good psychometric properties and that it’s a good instrument for body image distortion and body image dissatisfaction assessment. |