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Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire (BIAQ)

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Encyclopedia of Feeding and Eating Disorders

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Definition

The Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire (BIAQ) is a self-report measure of behavioral avoidance of experiences that could increase body image-related distress or dissatisfaction. The questionnaire has 19 items across four behavioral themes: clothing (disguising or covering up the body through clothing choices), social activities (avoidance of social situations that involve eating or focus on appearance), restraint (dietary restriction), and grooming/weighing (checking behaviors such as scrutinizing oneself in the mirror and weighing). All items are scored on a 6-point scale according to the frequency of engagement in the behavior, from never (0) to always (5). Because the BIAQ assesses behavioral avoidance across multiple domains, this scale has utility helping clinicians understand patients’ body image anxiety and guiding the development of behavioral exposures in the treatment of eating disorders.

Historical Background

Rosen and colleagues initially developed the BIAQ in...

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References and Further Reading

  • Bamford, B. H., Attoe, C., Mountford, V. A., Morgan, J. F., & Sly, R. (2014). Body checking and avoidance in low weight and weight restored individuals with anorexia nervosa and non-clinical females. Eating Behaviors, 15(1), 5–8.

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  • Campana, A. N., da Consolacao, M., Tavares, G. C., da Silva, D., & Diogo, M. J. (2009). Translation and validation of the Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire (BIAQ) for the Portuguese language in Brazil. Behavior Research Methods, 41(1), 236–243.

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  • Delinsky, S. S., & Wilson, G. T. (2006). Mirror exposure for the treatment of body image disturbance. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 39(2), 108–116.

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  • Latner, J. D. (2008). Body checking and avoidance among behavioral weight-loss participants. Body Image, 5, 91–98.

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  • Latner, J. D., Mond, J. M., Vallance, J. K., Gleaves, D. H., & Buckett, G. (2012). Body checking and avoidance in women: Associations with mental and physical health-related quality of life. Eating Behaviors, 13, 386–389.

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  • Vossbeck-Elsebusch, A. N., Waldorf, M., Legenbauer, T., Bauer, A., Cordes, M., & Vocks, S. (2015). Overestimation of body size in eating disorders and its association to body-related avoidance behavior. Eating and Weight Disorders: Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 20(2), 173–178.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, 301 Cedar St, 06511, New Haven, CT, USA

    Janet A. Lydecker

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  1. Janet A. Lydecker
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Correspondence to Janet A. Lydecker .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Tracey Wade

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© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

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Lydecker, J.A. (2015). Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire (BIAQ). In: Wade, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Feeding and Eating Disorders. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-087-2_130-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-087-2_130-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-287-087-2

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