Is it valid yet? The social physique anxiety scale for Portuguese adolescents

Social physique anxiety (SPA) has been associated with a range of psychosocial and health‐related variables.The purpose of this paper is to determine the factorial validity and group invariance of the translated 7‐item social physique anxiety scale (SPAS) among Portuguese adolescents. A nationally representative sample of 3330 8th and 10th grade students (15.07 ± 1.34 years old; 47.5% males and 52.5% females) answered a survey as a part of a larger collaborative cross‐national survey, the Health Behaviour in School‐Aged Children (HBSC) 2006 study. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses resulted on a uni‐dimensional factor structure of 6 items [Satorra‐Bentler χ2 = 30.85, df = 8, p<.01; CFI = .996; NNFI = .992; RMSEA = .038 (90%C.I.: .024 ‐ .052); SRMR = .010]. Configurational and metric invariances across gender, grade level, diet beliefs, physical activity, perception of body, and BMI were confirmed. Between subject comparisons provide further evidence of construct and concurrent validity: girls, those who are or believe should be on a diet, those who are less active, and those who report feeling low regularly score significantly higher in SPA than their counterparts. It appears that SPAS has the potential to be an indicator of social‐psychological adjustment.