Body image assessment: A review of figural drawing scales

Figural drawing scales are commonly used to measure aspects of body image disturbance. There are several advantages to figural drawing scales including ease and flexibility in administration. Given the wide variety of scales available, it is important that researchers and clinicians choose the most useful and appropriate scale. This review includes all known existing paper and pencil figural drawing scales with published reliability and validity data. Scales that required a computer interface or specialized equipment or that measured only specific body regions were omitted. In addition to the reliability and validity results, the review specifies each scale’s components; namely, the number of figural drawings, gender(s) represented, clothing/body detail represented, appropriate ages, basis of the drawings, scale type (figural, silhouette, or pictorial), and availability of body size distortion measurements. Potential methodological shortcomings are addressed including procedural issues in administration. Recommendations for selecting an appropriate figural drawing scale are included and alternatives to figural drawing scales are discussed.