Translation and validation of a (Colombian) Spanish version of the breast appreciation scale (BrAS)

Abstract

The construct of breast appreciation is as an important facet of women’s positive body image and is measured using the 9-item Breast Appreciation Scale (BrAS; Swami et al., 2022). However, examinations of the instrument’s psychometric properties in diverse national and linguistic groups remains lacking. Here, we report on the translation and validation of a Colombian Spanish version of the BrAS. A total of 1979 cisgender women from Colombia completed a translation of the BrAS along with additional measures of body image, disordered eating, and psychological well-being. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis identified a stable unidimensional model of the BrAS, with all nine items retained. Additionally, the BrAS evidenced complete invariance (i.e., through to latent mean invariance) across mothers and non-mothers and was temporally stable after four weeks in a retest sample (n = 102). Evidence of convergent, concurrent, and incremental validity was very strong when based on both latent and observed scores. Greater breast appreciation was notably associated with more positive body image (body appreciation, functionality appreciation), greater breast awareness, and lower breast size dissatisfaction and eating restraint. These results suggest that the psychometric properties of the Colombian Spanish BrAS are robust.