Psychometric Properties and Measurement Invariance of the Portuguese Version of the Body and Appearance Self-Conscious Emotions Scale (BASES)

Abstract: The Body and Appearance Self-Conscious Emotions Scale (BASES; Castonguay et al., 2014 ) measures the individual’s shame, guilt, authentic and hubristic pride related to their body and appearance. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the BASES in a sample of adult individuals and the measurement invariance across gender. A sample of 506 participants completed the BASES and additional measures related to perfectionism and negative/positive affect. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the originally proposed four-factor structure of the BASES, with the best-fitted model dropping one item from the guilt factor. BASES showed adequate internal consistency, composite reliability, convergent validity and expected associations with perfectionism and affect measures. Scalar invariance was obtained across gender, with women showing significantly higher shame and guilt related to body and appearance than men. Our results support the use of the Portuguese BASES as a valid and reliable instrument to assess self-conscious emotions related to body and appearance.