Étude de validation de la version française du Body Esteem Scale (BES) dans la population masculine

The objective of the study was to validate the French version of the Body Esteem Scale (BES ; Mendelson et al., 2001 [3]) in a sample of French males. This multidimensional self-administered questionnaire assesses body esteem without assessment of satisfaction or dissatisfaction linked to the size of body parts considered as more relevant for women. A sample of 382 male participants (mean age equal to 22 ± 2,4) completed two questionnaires: the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (RSES) assessing self-esteem, and the Body Esteem scale (BES) which was initially composed of three subscales. Exploratory factorial analysis yielded four factors, partially similar to those of the original validation study, which refer to overall satisfaction with appearance, desire to modify or change appearance and/or weight, satisfaction with weight and feelings about appearance and weight. The goodness-of-fit of the four factors model was satisfactory. Body mass index and self-esteem explained 36% of the body-esteem variance. The BES appears useful for assessing male body esteem and taking into consideration the relationship between negative body esteem and psychopathology.