Shape- and weight-based self-esteem and the eating disorders

Objectives: To determine the psychometric properties of the Shape- and Weight-Based Self-Esteem (SAWBS) Inventory in women with eating disorders, and to compare SAWBS scores in women who have eating disorders with women from psychiatric and normal control groups. Method: Women with eating disorders (n = 48), women with other psychiatric disorders (n = 44), and undergraduate control women (n - 82) completed the SAWBS Inventory and measures of depression, self-esteem, and eating disorder symptomatology. Twenty women from the eating disorder group completed the SAWBS Inventory a second time I week later. Results: Similar to previous work in undergraduate samples, SAWBS scores were stable over I week, and demonstrated concurrent and discriminant validity in women with eating disorders. In between-group comparisons, SAWBS scores were higher among women with eating disorders than in either control group, even after controlling for age, socioeconomic status, body mass index, and self-esteem. A differing relationship between depression and SAWBS emerged as a function of group; SAWBS scores differed significantly among depressed, but not nondepressed women from the three groups. Conclusion: The psychometric properties of the SAWBS Inventory were established in women with eating disorders. As expected, SAWBS scores were higher in women with eating disorders than in the control groups. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed. (C) 1998 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.