eLoriCorps Immersive Body Rating Scale and eLoriCorps Mobile Versions: Validation to Assess Body Image Disturbances from Allocentric and Egocentric Perspectives in a Nonclinical Sample of Adolescents

Abstract

A growing number of studies have used virtual reality (VR) for the assessment and treatment of body image disturbances (BIDs). This study, conducted in a community sample of adolescents, documents the convergent and discriminant validity between (a) the traditional paper-based Figure Rating Scale (paper-based FRS), (b) the VR-based Body Rating Scale (eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1), and (c) the mobile app-based Body Rating Scale (eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1-Mobile). A total of 93 adolescents (14 to 18 years old) participated in the study. Body dissatisfaction and body distortion were assessed through the paper-based FRS, the eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1 and the eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1-Mobile. Eating disorder symptoms, body image avoidance, and social physique anxiety were also measured. Correlation analyses were performed. Overall, the results showed a good and statistically significant convergence between allocentric perspectives as measured by the paper-based FRS, the eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1 and the eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1-Mobile. As expected, the egocentric perspective measured in VR produced different results from the allocentric perspective, and from cognitive–attitudinal–affective dimensions of BIDs, with the exception of body distortion. These differences support the discriminant validity of the egocentric perspective of eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1 and are consistent with emerging evidence, highlighting a difference between experiencing the body from an egocentric (i.e., the body as a subject) and allocentric (i.e., the body as an object) perspective. The egocentric perspective could reflect a perceptual–sensory–affective construction of BIDs, whereas allocentric measures seem to be more related to a cognitive–affective–attitudinal construction of BIDs. Moreover, the results support the validity of the eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1-Mobile with promising perspectives of implementation among young populations.