Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 – SATAQ-4
Measures multidimensional aspects of societal and interpersonal influence on body image and appearance ideals.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 – SATAQ-4 was developed by Lauren M. Schaefer, J. Kevin Thompson, et al. (2013). It is designed to measure Sociocultural influences on body image and appearance ideals. The scale is intended for use with Adults and adolescents.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 22 items organized into 5 factors/subscales: Internalization: Thin/Low Body Fat, Internalization: Muscular/Athletic, Pressures: Family, Pressures: Peers, Pressures: Media.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Internalization: Thin/Low Body Fat | 3,4,5,8,9 | 5 |
| Internalization: Muscular/Athletic | 1,2,6,7,10 | 5 |
| Pressures: Family | 11,12,13,14 | 4 |
| Pressures: Peers | 15,16,17,18 | 4 |
| Pressures: Media | 19,20,21,22 | 4 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Definitely Disagree, 2 = Mostly Disagree, 3 = Neither Agree Nor Disagree, 4 = Mostly Agree, 5 = Definitely Agree.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 22 to 110. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low sociocultural influence/internalization: 22 – 50
- Moderate sociocultural influence/internalization: 51 – 80
- High sociocultural influence/internalization: 81 – 110
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of High internal consistency (typically Cronbach's alpha > .80 for all subscales).
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.