Reliability and Validity of Korean Version of Questionnaire for Weight Bias Measurement

Kim, Eun Mi; Lee, Kayoung; Hwang, Kyu Man; Kim, Jun Su; Park, Tae Jin

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Korean versions of Fat Phobia Scale (short form) (F-scale), Beliefs About Obese Persons Scale (BAOP), and Attitudes Toward Obese Persons Scale (ATOP) which are scales of rating weight bias were assessed to find out the reliability and validity.
METHODS
Korean versions of F-scale, BAOP, and ATOP were completed twice by 165 adults (85 males, 80 females; 73 hospital staffs, and 92 teachers). Validity was tested using Spearman correlation and factor analysis. Reliability was analyzed using test-retest analyses (Spearman Rho value).
RESULTS
Using factor analyses, F-scale comprised of three factors explaining 55.20% of the total variance, BAOP two factors explaining 53.3% of the total variance, and ATOP six factors explaining 61.61% of the total variance. Spearman correlation between F-scale and ATOP was -0.28 to -0.36 (P < 0.05), suggesting that people who worried about being obese tended to have negative attitudes against obesity. The correlation between F-scale and BAOP was -0.25 to -0.27 (P < 0.05), meaning that people who worried about being obese had a tendency to blame obesity on environmental factors. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.79 to 0.90 for F-scale, 0.34 to 0.38 for BAOP and 0.82 to 0.87 for ATOP. Spearman Rho values were 0.47 for F-scale, 0.50 for BAOP, and 0.47 for ATOP (P < 0.05). The scores of each scale were not related to subjects' sex, BMI, body perception, and weight control efforts, while for ATOP scores older subjects were more likely to have a negative view for obesity (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION
The Korean version of F-scale, ATOP and BAOP could be considered as a tool to evaluate weight-bias however, further study is needed for appropriate application.