Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3)

Description

The Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ) is a self-report questionnaire that measures the extent to which individuals have internalized societal expectations about appearance. It was developed by Rebecca L. Heinberg, Paul L. Thompson, and Stacey J. Stormer in 1995.

Definition

The SATAQ is a 30-item questionnaire that assesses three dimensions of sociocultural attitudes towards appearance:

  • Thin-ideal internalization refers to the extent to which individuals believe that being thin is important and desirable.
  • Muscular-ideal internalization refers to the extent to which individuals believe that being muscular is important and desirable.
  • Appearance-related pressures refers to the extent to which individuals feel pressure to conform to societal expectations about appearance.

History

The SATAQ was developed in response to the growing body of research that suggests that sociocultural factors play a significant role in the development of eating disorders and body image dissatisfaction. The questionnaire was designed to be a reliable and valid measure of sociocultural attitudes towards appearance, and it has been used in numerous research studies to assess the impact of these attitudes on eating disorders, body image dissatisfaction, and other psychological outcomes.

Characteristics

The SATAQ is a self-report questionnaire that is completed by respondents in a matter of minutes. The questionnaire is scored on a 5-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating greater internalization of sociocultural ideals about appearance and greater appearance-related pressures.

The SATAQ has been shown to be a reliable and valid measure of sociocultural attitudes towards appearance. The questionnaire has good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity. The SATAQ has also been shown to be sensitive to change over time.

Sources

  • Heinberg, R. L., Thompson, P. L., & Stormer, S. J. (1995). Development and validation of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(6), 1200-1216.
  • Thompson, J. K., Heinberg, L. R., Altabe, M., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (1999). Exacting beauty: Theory, assessment, and treatment of body image disturbance. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
  • Grabe, S., & Hyde, J. S. (2006). The social construction of the ideal body: A review of sociocultural perspectives on body image. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 460-486.
  • Levine, M. P., & Smolak, L. (2011). The body image workbook: An 8-week program for learning to love your body. New York: Guilford Press.
  • Cash, T. F. (2004). Body image: What do you see when you look in the mirror? New York: Guilford Press.

  1. TV programs are an important source of information about fashion and “being attractive.”
  2. I’ve felt pressure from TV or magazines to lose weight.
  3. do not care if my body looks like the body of people who are on TV.
  4.  I compare my body to the bodies of people who are on TV.
  5. TV commercials are an important source of information fashion and “being attractive.”
  6.  I do not feel pressure from TV or magazines to look pretty.
  7. I would like my body to look like the models who appear in magazines.
  8.  I compare my appearance to the appearance of TV and movie stars.
  9. Music videos on TV are not an important source of information about fashion and “being attractive.”
  10. I’ve felt pressure from TV and magazines to be thin.
  11.  I would like my body to look like the people who are in movies.
  12. do not compare my body to the bodies of people who appear in magazines.
  13.  Magazine articles are not an important source of information about fashion and “beingattractive.”
  14. I’ve felt pressure from TV or magazines to have a perfect body.
  15.  I wish I looked like the models in music videos.
  16. I compare my appearance to the appearance of people in magazines.
  17. Magazine advertisements are an important source of information about fashion and “being attractive.”
  18. I’ve felt pressure from TV or magazines to diet.
  19.  I do not wish to look as athletic as the people in magazines.
  20. I compare my body to that of people in “good shape.”
  21.  Pictures in magazines are an important source of information about fashion and “being attractive.
  22. I’ve felt pressure from TV or magazines to exercise.
  23.  I wish I looked as athletic as sports stars.
  24. I compare my body to that of people who are athletic.
  25.  Movies are an important source of information about fashion and “being attractive.”
  26. I’ve felt pressure from TV or magazines to change my appearance.
  27.  I do not try to look like the people on TV.
  28. Movie starts are not an important source of information about fashion and “being attractive.”
  29.  Famous people are an important source of information about fashion and “being attractive.”
  30.  I try to look like sports athletes.                                                                                               .
This instrument can be found online at: http://bodyimagedisturbance.usf.edu/sat/index.htm
 
1=Definitely Disagree‚ 2=Mostly Disagree‚ 3=Neither Agree Nor Disagree‚ 4=Mostly Agree‚ 5= Definitely Agree
Internalization-General: Items: 3‚ 4‚ 7‚ 8‚ 11‚ 12‚ 15‚ 16‚ 27
Internalization-Athlete: Items: 19‚ 20‚ 23‚ 24‚ 30
Pressures: Items: 2‚ 6‚ 10‚ 14‚ 18‚ 22‚ 26
Information: Items: 1‚ 5‚ 9‚ 13‚ 17‚ 21‚ 25‚ 28‚ 29
Reverse-keyed items: 3‚ 6‚ 9‚ 12‚ 13‚ 19‚ 27‚ 28
 
For more information contact:
J. Kevin Thompson‚ Ph.D
Department of Psychology
University of South Florida
4202 Fowler Ave
Tampa‚ FL 33620-8200

J. Kevin Thompson‚ Patricia van den Berg‚ Megan Roehrig‚ Angela S. Guarda‚ and Leslie J. Heinberg. 2003. The Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Scale-3 (SATAQ-3): Development and Validation. Journal of Eating Disorders. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com).

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