Cross-linguistic validity of the French and Dutch versions of the Very Short form of the Physical Self-Inventory among adolescents

• We studied the French and Dutch Very Short forms of the Physical Self-Inventory (PSI-VS).
• Results supported the 6-factor structure of the French and Dutch PSI-VS.
• Results supported a modified, positively worded, version of the PSI-VS.
• Structure was invariant across sexes, age, and BMI categories.
• Latent means differed across sexes and BMI categories.

The study tested the cross-linguistic validity of the Very Short form of the Physical Self-Inventory (PSI-VS) among 1115 Flemish (Dutch version) adolescents, and a comparison sample of 1103 French adolescents (French version; from Morin & Maïano, 2011a). Flemish adolescents also completed a positively worded reformulation of the reverse-keyed item of the physical attractiveness (PA) subscale. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) supported the factor validity and reliability (except for the Dutch PA subscale) of the PSI-VS, and its partial measurement invariance across samples. CFA conducted on the modified version of the Dutch PSI-VS (11 original items plus the positively worded replacement), presented satisfactory reliability (ω = .67–.89), and was fully invariant across sexes, age groups, and body mass index categories. Additionally, results revealed latent mean differences across sexes and body mass index categories. Therefore, the modified Dutch PSI-VS can be used whenever there is a need for a very short physical self-concept questionnaire.