Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (OBC) is a 24-item measure of the degree to which females view their bodies as an object that can be changed after internalizing societal expectations. The scale contains three subscales: 1) surveillance (viewing the body as an outside observer), 2) body shame (feeling shame when the body does not conform) and 3) appearance control beliefs.
Geographies Tested: United States of America
Populations Included: Female
Age Range: Adolescents, Adults
Surveillance scale
1. I rarely think about how I look.*
2. I think it is more important that my clothes are comfortable than whether they look good on me.*
3. I think more about how my body feels than how my body looks.*
4. I rarely compare how I look with how other people look.*
5. During the day, I think about how I look many times.
6. I often worry about whether the clothes I am wearing make me look good.
7. I rarely worry about how I look to other people.*
8. I am more concerned with what my body can do than how it looks.*
Body shame scale
9. When I can't control my weight, I feel like something must be wrong with me.
10. I feel ashamed of myself when I haven't made the effort to look my best.
11. I feel like I must be a bad person when I don't look as good as I could.
12. I would be ashamed for people to know what I really weigh.
13. I never worry that something is wrong with me when I am not exercising as much as I should.*
14. When I'm not exercising enough, I question whether I am a good enough person.
15. Even when I can't control my weight, I think I'm an okay person.*
16. When I'm not the size I think I should be, I feel ashamed.
Control scale
17. I think a person is pretty much stuck with the looks they are born with.*
18. A large part of being in shape is having that kind of body in the first place.*
19. I think a person can look pretty much how they want to it they are willing to work at it.
20. I really don't think I have much control over how my body looks.*
21. I think a person's weight is mostly determined by the genes they are born with.*
22. It doesn't matter how hard I try to change my weight, it's probably always going to be about the same.*
23. I can weigh what I'm supposed to when I try hard enough.
24. The shape you are in depends mostly on your genes.*
*Items are reverse scored
Response Options:
7-point Likert scale
Strongly disagree - 1
Strongly disagree - 7
The sum of each subscale is calculated as well as the total instrument score. Higher scores represent higher endorsement of each of the constructs.
McKinley, N. M., & Hyde, J. S. (1996). The Objectified Body Consciousness Scale: Development and validation. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 20, 181-215. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1996.tb00467
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Qualitative Research
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Field Expert Input
Cognitive Interviews / Pilot Testing
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