Appearance Anxiety Inventory (AAI)

doi:10.1017/9781009398275.004

Chapter 3 - Appearance Anxiety Inventory (AAI)

Published online by Cambridge University Press: aN Invalid Date NaN

David Veale and

Olivia Hunt

Edited by

Virginia Ramseyer Winter ,

Tracy L. Tylka and

Antoinette M. Landor

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Virginia Ramseyer Winter: Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
Tracy L. Tylka: Affiliation:
Ohio State University
Antoinette M. Landor: Affiliation:
University of Missouri

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Summary

The 10-item Appearance Anxiety Inventory (AAI; Veale et al., 2013) assesses cognitive processes and behaviours characteristic of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). The AAI is derived from a theoretical model of BDD that defines appearance anxiety as a person’s responses to their perceived flaws and shame about their appearance (e.g., appearance-focused attention, comparison, rumination, checking, and avoidance). The AAI can be administered online or in-person to adolescents and adults and is free to use. This chapter first discusses the development of the AAI and then provides evidence of its psychometrics. Findings from exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis support a 2-factor structure (appearance avoidance, threat monitoring), yet a single factor accounted for most of the scale’s variance and therefore the AAI is calculated as a single appearance anxiety score. Internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, and sensitivity to change as a result of therapy support the use of the AAI. Next, this chapter provides the AAI items in their entirety, instructions for administering the AAI to participants, item response scale, and scoring procedure. Links to known translations are provided. Logistics of use, such as permissions, copyright, and contact information, are provided for readers.

Keywords

Appearance Anxiety Inventory AAI appearance anxiety body dysmorphic disorder BDD body avoidance body rumination body checking scale development psychometric evidence factor structure reliability, validity administration scoring available translations

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Type: Chapter
Information: Handbook of Body Image-Related Measures , pp. 7 - 9

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009398275.004 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2025

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References

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