Sexual Objectification in Family of Origin Scale: Development and Psychometric Evaluation

In this article, we report the development and psychometric properties of scores on a new 8-item scale designed to assess women’s sexual objectification experiences in their family of origin: Sexual Objectification Experiences in Family of Origin Scale. Our participants were 827 young adult women, r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sex roles 2024-04, Vol.90 (4), p.539-551
Main Authors: Szymanski, Dawn M., Carretta, Rachel F., Strauss Swanson, Charlotte, Bissonette Mink, Danielle, Haring, Grace
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Body image
Child development
Child sexual abuse
Childhood factors
Communication
Confirmatory factor analysis
Construct Validity
Depression (Psychology)
Eating behavior
Eating disorders
Families & family life
Females
Gender Studies
Human body
Internet
Measures
Medicine/Public Health
Mental depression
Mental health
Mothers
Objectification
Original Article
Polls & surveys
Psychological distress
Psychology
Psychometrics
Qualitative research
Quantitative psychology
Self Concept
Self image
Sex roles
Sexualization
Sociology
Task forces
Validity
Women
Young adults
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Summary:In this article, we report the development and psychometric properties of scores on a new 8-item scale designed to assess women’s sexual objectification experiences in their family of origin: Sexual Objectification Experiences in Family of Origin Scale. Our participants were 827 young adult women, ranging in age from 18–30 years old, who filled out a web-based survey. We provide support for structural validity (via exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses) and reliability (alpha and omega) for scores on this new measure. Supporting construct validity, Sexual Objectification Experiences in Family of Origin Scale was positively correlated with depression, disordered eating, self-objectification, internalization of cultural standards of beauty, and body shame. Associations with mental health and body image outcomes held true, even after controlling for interpersonal sexual objectification experiences and childhood sexual abuse, providing support for incremental validity. Mental health providers can use this scale as a clinical assessment tool to better understand the contextual factors that may be impacting young adult women’s struggles with body shame, depression, and disordered eating. It can also be used to inform treatment strategies that target family of origin concerns and the role of sexual objectification within the family unit on individual distress.
ISSN:0360-0025
1573-2762
DOI:10.1007/s11199-024-01446-5