Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age.

The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset - with data collected between 2020 and 2022 - to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age

Abstract The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset – with data collected between 2020 and 2022 – to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research

Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age

The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset - with data collected between 2020 and 2022 - to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research

Work-related factors influencing doctors search behaviors and trust toward medical information resources

Regulation of clinical practice is a characteristic aspect of the medical profession. Regardless of whether this regulation derives from government-sourced guidelines or materials from government-sponsored institutions, it results in a high production of information resources (institutional information resources), which are disseminated to the clinical stuff in order to ensure compliance. In that case, the issue of credibility of these information resources might arise, since medical practice is characterized by a high frequency of change. The latter involves a continuous effort on the part of the clinical staff, which is motivated by work-related factors (e.g., need for compliance) or personal motivation (e.g., need for self-improvement). In this study we consider a simple trust model, according to which we assume that perceived trust is a direct antecedent of perceived credibility. We evaluate whether work-related or personal motivating factors influence the relation between perceived credibility and trust toward institutional information sources and how the effect of each factor affects this relation. Findings suggest that work-related factors have a higher impact on the relation between credibility and trust than personal motivation factors, while they are stressing the important role of hospital libraries as a dissemination point for government-sponsored information resources

Using sensors and data-loggers in an integrated mobile school-lab setting to teach Light and Optics

The present study aims to evaluate a specific mobile science laboratory (the MSL - PCB100). This is intended for the teaching of Science and, being mobile, it is easy to use in the classroom. Moreover, it bypasses the Virtual Lab vs Real Laboratory controversy. Learners can use both, according to educational needs and wishes. For the purpose of the present evaluation, 77 freshmen students of the Department of Electrical Engineering in the University of Thessaly participated, and the topic of instruction was Light and Optics. Teaching involved parallel use of both real and virtual Labs. Students' understanding of related Physics concepts was first examined before and after the teaching took place, with the use of a specially designed questionnaire of 39 questions. The results are acquired by comparing these datasets, and are presented herein, together with the experimental errors involved These reveal that students' conceptual understanding was considerably improved by the use of the mobile School-Lab during teaching. © 2014 IEEE