The Body Shape Questionnaire Is Not Invariant Across Sex: Evidence From Portuguese-Speaking University Students

The Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) is a widely used measure of body shape concerns that was originally designed for use with women but has more recently been used with boys and men. The latter use may be problematic, given that no previous study has demonstrated sex invariance for BSQ scores. To determine the extent to which BSQ scores are sex invariant, we asked Portuguese-speaking women ( n = 1,613) and men ( n = 871) to complete the full BSQ (34 items). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a hypothesized 32-item model of BSQ scores and shorter versions had acceptable fit indices in women and men, separately. However, multigroup confirmatory factor analysis showed that these BSQ model scores had configural but not metric, scalar, or strict sex invariance. Differential item analysis indicated significant item-functioning differences on 19 of the 32 retained BSQ items. Thus, BSQ scores are not sex invariant, making problematic the results of previous studies that have compared latent BSQ scores across sex.

Development and Validation of the Homeostasis Concept Inventory

We present the Homeostasis Concept Inventory (HCI), a 20-item multiple-choice instrument that assesses how well undergraduates understand this critical physiological concept. We used an iterative process to develop a set of questions based on elements in the Homeostasis Concept Framework. This process involved faculty experts and undergraduate students from associate’s colleges, primarily undergraduate institutions, regional and research-intensive universities, and professional schools. Statistical results provided strong evidence for the validity and reliability of the HCI. We found that graduate students performed better than undergraduates, biology majors performed better than nonmajors, and students performed better after receiving instruction about homeostasis. We used differential item analysis to assess whether students from different genders, races/ethnicities, and English language status performed differently on individual items of the HCI. We found no evidence of differential item functioning, suggesting that the items do not incorporate cultural or gender biases that would impact students’ performance on the test. Instructors can use the HCI to guide their teaching and student learning of homeostasis, a core concept of physiology.

Performance on the Boston Naming Test in Bilinguals

Objectives: We examined performance on the Boston Naming Test (BNT) in older and younger adults who were monolingual English or French speakers, or bilingual speakers of English and French (n=215). Methods: Monolingual participants completed the task in their native language, and bilingual participants completed the task in English, French, and bilingual (either-language) administrations. Results: Overall, younger and older monolingual French speakers performed worse than other groups; bilingual participants performed worst in the French administration and approximately two-thirds of bilingual participants performed better when responses were accepted in either language. Surprisingly, however, a subset of bilinguals performed worse when responses were accepted in either language as compared to their maximum score achieved in either English or French. This either-language disadvantage does not appear to be associated with the degree of balanced bilingualism, but instead appears to be related to overall naming abilities. Differential item analysis comparing language groups and the different administrations identified several items that displayed uniform and/or non-uniform differential item functioning (DIF). Conclusions: The BNT does not elicit equivalent performance in English and French, even when assessing naming performance in monolingual French speakers using the French version of the test. Scores were lower in French overall, and several items exhibited DIF. We recommend caution in interpreting performance on these items in bilingual speakers. Finally, not all bilinguals benefit from an either-language administration of the BNT. (JINS, 2015, 21, 350–363)