Psychometric validation of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Body Image Scale – HIV for people living with HIV/AIDS

Abstract

Introduction: Body Image can be defined as the mental representation of body identity. The surroundings, the gaze of the other, they emotions, they integrity, and our own fragility are elements of this representation. The social stigma caused by body changes in people living with HIV / AIDS may be more intense than the fear of death itself, being important to assess the impact of these changes in the course of treatment. Objective: To perform the psychometric validation of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Body Image Scale - HIV for a sample of Brazilians, of both sexes, living with HIV / AIDS. Methods: The total of 1050 patients were recruited from the São Bernardo do Campo HIV/AIDS program, aged between 18 and 78 years. Confirmatory factor analysis using the Unweighted Least Square and listwise deletion was used to determine the adherence of the data to the models tested. Results: Adequate coefficients of internal reliability and evidence of construct validity were established for the Brazilian version of BIS-HIV in the unifactorial model. Conclusion:This scale, with evidenced psychometric qualities, provides a useful tool for quantitative investigations of body image in people with HIV/AIDS in the Brazilian context and extends the possibility of future cross-cultural research.