Development of a scale assessing students' appearance anxiety in physical education

A 14-item self-report scale was developed to measure students' anxiety about their appearance in physical education lessons. Confirmatory factor analysis on 401 students' responses on the Appearance Anxiety in Physical Education Scale (AAPES) supported the existence of two factors with strong internal consistency: Fear of Negative Evaluation, and Anxiety and Avoidance. Both factors correlated with Social Physique Anxiety and Global and Physical Self Concept, in line with expectations. In addition, students who scored high on Appearance Anxiety proved to be those Students with higher percent body fat and lower physical fitness. These findings support the good psychometric properties of the scale, suggesting that it is a reliable and valid tool.