Testing Measurement Invariance of the 7-item Social Physique Anxiety Scale

Abstract

Social physique anxiety is commonly examined in exercise science to understand individuals’ physical activity motivation and behavior. Although a 12-item and 9-item version of the Social Physique Anxiety Scale exists, a 7-item version has become a popular tool to measure this construct despite the need to further examine its measurement properties. The current study examined the factor structure of the 7-item scale and measurement invariance across age, gender, body mass index, typical exercise mode, and education level. Similar to past work, confirmatory factor analysis model modifications were needed to achieve adequate fit in our large sample of physically active men and women (N = 1009; M age = 28.6 ± 10.6 years). Multi-group latent analysis revealed measurement invariance only for the education level grouping variable. Researchers should examine and report the measurement model of the 7-item scale along with measurement invariance before proceeding with main analyses.