Polskaya N.A., Yakubovskaya D.K., Razvaliaeva A.Yu., Vlasova N.V. Russian Validation of the Phenomenological Body Shame Scale – Revised
Natalia A. Polskaya, D.Sc. (Psychology), Leading Researcher, Scientific and Practical Center for Mental Health of Children and Adolescents named after G.E. Sukhareva, Moscow, Russia; bld. 21A, 5th Donskoy lane, Moscow, Russia, 119334; polskayana@yandex.ru
Daria K. Yakubovskaya, Junior Researcher, Scientific and Practical Center for Mental Health of Children and Adolescents named after G.E. Sukhareva, Moscow, Russia; bld. 21A, 5th Donskoy lane, Moscow, Russia, 119334; darrafy@gmail.com
Anna Yu. Razvaliaeva, PhD (Psychology), Researcher, Laboratory of Cognitive Processes and Mathematical Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia; bld. 13–1, Yaroslavskaya st., Moscow, Russia, 129366; annraz@rambler.ru
Nataliia V. Vlasova, PhD (Psychology), Head of the Mental Well-Being Service, Counselor, State Budgetary Educational Institution “Proton Educational Center”, Moscow, Russia; bld. 13, Filevsky blvd., Moscow, Russia, 121601; nataiviola29@gmail.com
Body shame can develop in adolescence due to social comparisons and sociocultural practices of appearance idealization; it can become a risk factor for psychopathological symptoms and mental disorders. Body shame is most keenly experienced by adolescent girls and young women. The experience of body shame includes the tendency to hide one’s physical features that are deemed unsatisfactory and to avoid shameful situations. Despite its relevance, a search of the Russian literature failed to yield measures that assess this construct; most measures of similar constructs focus on negative body image.
The current study aimed to validate the Phenomenological Body Shame Scale – Revised in a sample of Russian-speaking adolescent girls and young women.
Method. The sample consisted of 551 adolescent girls and young women (13–21 years old). To test the convergent validity of the scale, we used the Interpersonal Sensitivity Measure, the Fear of Negative Appearance Evaluation Scale, the Body Image Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.
Results. A confirmatory factor analysis yielded a one-factor structure of the scale (χ2 = 55.5, df = 20, CFI = 0.979, RMSEA = 0.070, SRMR = 0.027). A multigroup confirmatory factor analysis showed the equivalence of this structure in the subgroups of adolescents and youths; these groups also did not differ in body shame scores. The internal reliability of the scale was high (α = 0.906; w = 0.913), and its test-retest reliability was satisfactory (Spearman’s r = 0.782). Body shame had a strong positive relationship with body image dissatisfaction and a strong negative relationship with self-esteem. The interpersonal sensitivity scales and the fear of negative appearance evaluation scale had moderate positive correlations with body shame.
Conclusions. The Phenomenological Body Shame Scale – Revised showed good psychometric characteristics and can be used in screening, cross-sectional, and longitudinal studies of emotional and personality-related components of body image, as well as in the practice of psychological counseling to reveal possible disturbances in body and appearance perception.
Key words: shame, girls, adolescence, youth, fear of negative appearance evaluation, Phenomenological Body Shame Scale
For citation: Polskaya, N.A., Yakubovskaya, D.K., Razvaliaeva, A.Yu., Vlasova, N.V. (2026). Russian Validation of the Phenomenological Body Shame Scale – Revised. New Psychological Research, No. 1, 167–188. DOI: 10.51217/npsyresearch_2026_06_01_09
Keywords: shame girls adolescence youth fear of negative appearance evaluation Phenomenological Body Shame Scale
Received: 27th march 2026
Published: 27th march 2026