Asessing the male body image: Spanish validation of two instruments

Despite the literature suggesting that body dissatisfaction is increasing among males, only few measures on specific body image concerns in men have been validated in Spanish male populations. The aim of this study was to reassess the factor structure of the Spanish versions of the Muscle Dysmorphic Disorder Inventory (MMDI) and the Adonis Complex Questionnaire (ACQ). A cross-sectional study was conducted among 298 Sport Sciences male students to examine: reliability, the factorial structure, and several evidences of validity -concurrent and convergent- of both scales. The questionnaires present adequate reliability. The three-factor structure proposed for the MMDI was replicated. Nevertheless, the confirmatory factor analysis supports a second-order factor structure for the ACQ instead of the three-factor structure proposed. Moreover, the MDDI shows greater association than ACQ with the variables studied. This study represents an advance in the use of adequate and reliable scales of body image tools in the Hispanic population.