Psychometric Properties of the Breast Size Rating Scale (BSRS) Among Young Women in Poland

Breast size dissatisfaction is an important facet of women’s body image, with downstream outcomes including poorer psychological well-being and lower breast cancer knowledge. As such, there is a crucial need for appropriate measurement tools that allow for the assessment, monitoring, and comparison of breast size dissatisfaction across diverse communities. One such instrument is the Breast Size Rating Scale (BSRS), which is used to assess perceptual breast size dissatisfaction, but its psychometric properties have not been assessed in Polish women. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the BSRS in a sample of women from Poland. We asked 167 young women from Poland (age M = 20.4 ± 1.5 years) to complete the BSRS, as well as self-report measures selected to assess nomological validity. Bust size and body mass index (BMI) were objectively measured. A subsample of 100 randomly selected participants also completed the BSRS again after 15 days. Greater breast size dissatisfaction was significantly associated with lower body appreciation, greater body dissatisfaction, and lower breast awareness. Intraclass correlation coefficients indicated that the BSRS had adequate test-retest reliability. In our sample, 29.9% of women reported no breast size dissatisfaction, 53.3% desired a larger breast size, and 16.8% desired a smaller breast size. Our findings demonstrate that BSRS-derived scores are psychometrically robust and that breast size dissatisfaction may be common among young Polish women. The validation of the BSRS in this context not only enhances its applicability in future research but also contributes to a broader understanding of body image.