e LoriCorps Immersive Body Rating Scale and e LoriCorps Mobile Versions: Validation to Assess Body Image Disturbances from Allocentric and Egocentric Perspectives in a Nonclinical Sample of Adolescents

Johana Monthuy-Blanc; Giulia Corno; Marilou Ouellet; Fadel Touré; Francisca Bourbeau; Michel Rousseau; Audrey Charette; Nicolas Moreau; Normand Roy; Vicky Drapeau; Marie-Eve Mathieu; Stéphane Bouchard

doi:10.3390/jcm11051156

e LoriCorps Immersive Body Rating Scale and e LoriCorps Mobile Versions: Validation to Assess Body Image Disturbances from Allocentric and Egocentric Perspectives in a Nonclinical Sample of Adolescents

J Clin Med. 2022 Feb 22;11(5):1156. doi: 10.3390/jcm11051156.

Authors

Johana Monthuy-Blanc^{1

2}, Giulia Corno^{1

3}, Marilou Ouellet¹, Fadel Touré¹, Francisca Bourbeau¹, Michel Rousseau¹, Audrey Charette¹, Nicolas Moreau^{1

4}, Normand Roy^{1

5}, Vicky Drapeau⁶, Marie-Eve Mathieu⁷, Stéphane Bouchard^{1

3

8}

Affiliations

¹ GR2TCA-Loricorps-Groupe de Recherche Transdisciplinaire des Troubles du Comportement Alimentaire, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, 3351, Boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, Canada.
² Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, 7401 Rue Hochelaga, Montreal, QC H1N 3M5, Canada.
³ Chaire de Recherche du Canada en Cyberpsychologie Clinique, Université du Québec en Outaouais, 283, Boul Alexandre-Taché, Gatineau, QC J8X 3X7, Canada.
⁴ School of Social Work, University of Ottawa, 120 University, Office 12035, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
⁵ Groupe de Recherche Interuniversitaire sur l'Intégration Pédagogique des Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication, Université de Montréal, 90, Avenue Vincent-d'Indy, Montreal, QC H2V 2S9, Canada.
⁶ Département D'éducation Physique, Faculté des Sciences de L'éducation, Université Laval, Pavillon de l'Éducation Physique et des Sports, Local 2214, 2320, Rue des Bibliothèques, Quebec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada.
⁷ Chaire de Recherche du Canada en Activité Physique et Obésité Juvénile, Université de Montréal, Boulevard Édouard-Montpetit, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada.
⁸ Centre de Recherche du Centre Intégré de Santé et de Services Sociaux de l'Outaouais, 20 Rue Pharand, Gatineau, QC J9Y 6H9, Canada.

Abstract

A growing number of studies have used virtual reality (VR) for the assessment and treatment of body image disturbances (BIDs). This study, conducted in a community sample of adolescents, documents the convergent and discriminant validity between (a) the traditional paper-based Figure Rating Scale (paper-based FRS), (b) the VR-based Body Rating Scale (eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1), and (c) the mobile app-based Body Rating Scale (eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1-Mobile). A total of 93 adolescents (14 to 18 years old) participated in the study. Body dissatisfaction and body distortion were assessed through the paper-based FRS, the eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1 and the eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1-Mobile. Eating disorder symptoms, body image avoidance, and social physique anxiety were also measured. Correlation analyses were performed. Overall, the results showed a good and statistically significant convergence between allocentric perspectives as measured by the paper-based FRS, the eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1 and the eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1-Mobile. As expected, the egocentric perspective measured in VR produced different results from the allocentric perspective, and from cognitive-attitudinal-affective dimensions of BIDs, with the exception of body distortion. These differences support the discriminant validity of the egocentric perspective of eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1 and are consistent with emerging evidence, highlighting a difference between experiencing the body from an egocentric (i.e., the body as a subject) and allocentric (i.e., the body as an object) perspective. The egocentric perspective could reflect a perceptual-sensory-affective construction of BIDs, whereas allocentric measures seem to be more related to a cognitive-affective-attitudinal construction of BIDs. Moreover, the results support the validity of the eLoriCorps-IBRS 1.1-Mobile with promising perspectives of implementation among young populations.

Keywords: body dissatisfaction; body distortion; convergent and discriminant validity; egocentric perceptual-sensory-affective dimension of body image; mobile application; virtual reality.