Validation of the Body Odor Disgust Scale in Russia and Italy
Keywords:
sensitivity to odors, BODS, behavioral immune system, perception of smells, body odors
Abstract
Introduction. The ongoing research on the olfactory system has led to a growing consensus that it plays a crucial role in mitigating microbial threats. This observation elevates the sense of smell to a privileged
position in behavioral disease avoidance. Aims: adaptation and validation of the BODS methodology on a Russian-speaking sample. Materials and methods. A total of 504 participants were tested and surveyed in Russia (390 women, 114 men) and 150 people in Italy (90 women, 60 men). All participants completed BODS questionnaires anonymously. The attractiveness of human sweat odor was assessed using olfactory testing and a standardized questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted using the R programming language and in line with Dima’s six-step protocol. The psych library was used for descriptive statistics and group comparisons. Results. Upon analyzing the Russian respondents’ responses, it was found that odors originating from a stranger (external sources) were perceived as more unpleasant (mean value = 4.33) than the odors of one’s own body (mean value = 3.46). These findings are consistent with the results from the Italian sample. The negative ratings of the BODS scenarios that described sweat odor from a stranger and one's own body (BODS1 and BODS2) aligned with the perception of sweat samples in laboratory conditions. Conclusion. The BODS technique was successfully tested and is suitable for use with a Russian-speaking sample.
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30. R-Core-Team. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. [Internet]. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. 2019. URL: https://www.R-project.org/
31. Dima A.L. Scale validation in applied health research: tutorial for a 6-step R-based psychometrics protocol. Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine. 2018;6(1):136–161. DOI: 10.1080/21642850.2018.1472602
32. Revelle W. Psych: Procedures for Personality and Psychological Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA. 2019. URL: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=psychVersion=1.9.12
33. van der Ark L.A. Mokken Scale Analysis in R. Journal of Statistical Software. 2007;20(11):1–19. DOI: 10.18637/jss.v020.i11
34. Chalmers R.P. A Multidimensional Item Response Theory Package for the R Environment. Journal of Statistical Software. 2012;48(6):1–29. DOI: 10.18637/jss.v048.i06
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Published
2024-04-01
How to Cite
Bedareva, B. A. V., Chuyanova, A., & Ivanov, V. (2024). Validation of the Body Odor Disgust Scale in Russia and Italy. Psychology. Psychophysiology, 17(1), 80-90. https://doi.org/10.14529/jpps240108
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Psychophysiology
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