Assessing positive body image: Contemporary approaches and future directions

•We review 17 formal assessment scales covering 10 positive body image constructs.•We discuss applications of these scales within psychotherapy and applied research.•We present ideas for how these scales can direct new research in positive body image.•We suggest how positive body image can be informally assessed within psychotherapy.•We offer guidelines for conducting mixed methods assessment of positive body image.

Empirical and clinical interest in positive body image has burgeoned in recent years. This focused attention is generating various measures and methods for researchers and psychotherapists to assess an array of positive body image constructs in populations of interest. No resource to date has integrated the available measures and methods for easy accessibility and comparison. Therefore, this article reviews contemporary scales for the following positive body image constructs: body appreciation, positive rational acceptance, body image flexibility, body functionality, attunement (body responsiveness, mindful self-care), positive/self-accepting body talk, body pride, body sanctification, broad conceptualization of beauty, and self-perceived body acceptance by others. Guidelines for the qualitative assessment of positive body image and recommendations for integrating positive body image assessment within psychotherapy and applied research settings are also offered. The article concludes with articulating broad future directions for positive body image assessment, including ideas for expanding its available measures, methods, and dynamic expressions.