Assessing appearance-related disturbances in HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM): psychometrics of the body change and distress questionnaire-short form (ABCD-SF).

Appearance-related disturbances are common among HIV-infected MSM; however, to date, there have been limited options in the valid assessment of this construct. The aim of the current study was to assess the structural, internal, and convergent validity of the assessment of body change distress questionnaire (ABCD) and its short version. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that both versions fit the data well. Four subfactors were revealed measuring the following body disturbance constructs: (1) negative affect about appearance, (2) HIV health-related outcomes and stigma, (3) eating and exercise confusion, and (4) ART non-adherence. The subfactors and total scores revealed bivariate associations with salient health outcomes, including depressive symptoms, HIV sexual transmission risk behaviors, and ART non-adherence. The ABCD and its short form, offer valid means to assess varied aspects of body image disturbance among HIV-infected MSM, and require modest participant burden.