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Positive body image refers to individuals' ability to conceptualize their bodies with love, respect, and appreciation. The study of positive body image is relatively new, and instruments used to investigate this multi-faceted construct have received limited use in non-English speaking countries. Thus, the aim of this investigation is to consider four measures that are associated with positive body image across eight different countries. Participants (n = 6272) completed the Body Appreciation Scale-2, the Body Areas Satisfaction Scale, the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale, and the Weight Bias Internalization Scale. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses (MG-CFAs) and item-response theory (IRT) models were used to examine the measurement invariance of these surveys. Our results generally suggest that positive body image, weight bias, and appearance comparison can be assessed using brief assessments and that these four instruments can be used in different countries, but care should be taken to consider individuals' gender, BMI, and socio-economic position. ispartof: BODY IMAGE vol:35 pages:320-332 ispartof: location:Netherlands status: published

Research has demonstrated that mothers transmit body-related attitudes and eating behaviors to their daughters, but little is known about the role of self-compassion—treating oneself with kindness and being mindful about one’s experiences—in this transmission. This research examined the intrapersonal and interpersonal associations between mothers’ and daughters’ self-compassion, body esteem (i.e., positive self-evaluations about one’s appearance), and emotional eating (i.e., the tendency to eat in response to negative affect). Dyads (N = 191) of Canadian mothers (mean age: 57.37) and daughters (mean age: 28.76) completed self-report questionnaires. Dyadic, structural equation modeling and bootstrapping analyses were conducted to examine relationships among the study variables. Controlling for mothers’ and daughters’ body mass index, self-compassionate mothers and daughters reported higher body esteem. Additionally, daughters of self-compassionate mothers were more self-compassionate and had higher body esteem, which in turn predicted lower emotional eating. Adding to the literature on the intergenerational transmission of eating-related attitudes and behaviors, results suggest a relation between mother and daughter self-compassion, body esteem, and eating behaviors. Results also showed that attitudes toward oneself were related to eating behaviors. Mothers’ self-compassion might provide a model for daughters, which in turn is associated with daughters’ improved body esteem and eating behaviors.

Negative weight bias emerges at an early age. Parents play an important role in the development of their children's attitudes. In particular, mothers who place great importance on physical appearance have young daughters who exhibit more weight bias. The extent to which mothers have internalized the importance of being thin influences their own level of weight bias. Because most studies have been conducted among mothers of young children, the presence of these associations within adult dyads is unclear. The present study explored the link between mothers' weight bias and their adult daughters' weight bias, taking into account their respective level of thin-ideal internalization. Two hundred and nineteen Canadian mother-daughter adult dyads completed online questionnaires. Mothers' beliefs about people of higher weight were significantly related to their daughters' weight bias. Greater daughters' thin-ideal internalization was associated with greater weight bias across all dimensions of bias. However, fear of getting fat was the only dimension of maternal bias associated with daughters' thin-ideal internalization. In conclusion, adult daughters' weight bias was modestly linked to their mothers' negative attitudes toward individuals of higher weight.