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Chapter 21 - Body Compassion Scale (BCS)

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By
Jennifer K. Altman
Edited by
Virginia Ramseyer Winter ,
Tracy L. Tylka  and
Antoinette M. Landor
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 23-item Body Compassion Scale (BCS; Altman et al., 2020) is an emerging mindfulness and acceptance-based measure within positive body image that assesses one’s compassion in relationship with their body, via defusion, common humanity, and acceptance. The BCS can be administered online or in-person to adolescents and adults and is free to use in any setting. This chapter first discusses the development of the BCS within the mindfulness and acceptance-based body image literature and then provides evidence of its psychometrics. More specifically, the Body Compassion Scale has been found to have a three-factor structure within exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in multiple samples with presentations ranging from the general population to chronic illness, across multiple countries and languages. Internal consistency reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and incremental validity support the use of the BCS. Next, this chapter provides the BCS items in their entirety, instructions for administering the BCS to participants, the item response scale, and the scoring procedure. Known translations are provided. Logistics of use, such as permissions, copyright, and contact information, are provided for readers.

Keywords

Body Compassion ScaleBCSdefusioncommon humanityacceptancebody compassionmindfulnessscale developmentpsychometric evidencefactor structurereliabilityvalidityadministrationscoringtranslations available

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Type
Chapter
Information
Handbook of Body Image-Related Measures , pp. 64 - 67
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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References

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