The 32-item Anti-Fat Microaggression Experiences Questionnaire (AFMEQ; Webb et al., 2019) assesses contemporary forms of weight bias that individuals living in larger bodies routinely confront. The AFMEQ can be administered online or in person to older adolescents and adults and has not been validated for use in younger populations. It is free to use in research settings. This chapter first discusses the development of the AFMEQ and then provides evidence of its psychometrics. More specifically, the AFMEQ has been found to have a four-factor structure within exploratory factor analyses (Micro-Assault, Micro-Insult, Micro-Invalidation, and Media-Influenced Microaggression), aligning with the original microaggression framework but adding a novel recognition of the influence of media in promulgating oppressive stereotypes denigrating higher-weight individuals. Internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and incremental validity support the use of the AFMEQ. Next, this chapter provides the AFMEQ items in their entirety, instructions for administering the AFMEQ to participants, the item response scale, and the scoring procedure. Abbreviated forms are not offered, and no known translations are currently available. Logistics of use, such as permissions, copyright, and contact information, are provided for readers.

This chapter explores the legal frameworks that govern employment testing in Australia, including federal and state anti-discrimination legislation, and evaluates their impact on employment testing in the country. Overall, despite the existence of legal protections for individuals from diverse demographic groups (e.g., culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, sex/gender, age), judicial scrutiny of discrimination in employment testing remains limited. Practical challenges, such as difficulties in gathering evidence of discrimination, and the prospect of limited financial compensation, may discourage legal action. Moreover, statistical evidence is neither widely used nor required to demonstrate discrimination, resulting in a regulatory environment where employment testing practices are often guided more by organizational discretion and international perspectives than by legal mandates. However, as hiring technologies continue to evolve, this chapter highlights the opportunity for stronger regulatory oversight and empirical rigor to ensure employment testing remains both equitable and legally defensible.

Employment testing is routinely performed in South Africa today, but this was not always the case. Turning its back on its apartheid history of racial segregation and discrimination, South Africa has developed a progressive legal system to thwart bias and promote fairness in employment testing. This chapter explores employment-related testing in the public and private sectors, beginning with an overview of South Africa’s apartheid history, followed by a discussion of how the current legal system addresses fairness. A distinctive aspect of South African law is that preferential treatment, including lower cutoffs and within-group norming for protected groups, is not only mandated but also widely practised as the norm rather than the exception. Our review concludes that South Africa has enacted an extensive legal framework to promote equality and prevent unfair discrimination.

This chapter provides an overview of quantitative approaches to psychological assessment, focusing on measurement instruments used in mental health research. It traces the origins of psychological measurement, outlines its limitations, and explains essential psychometric properties—reliability, validity, and standardisation—needed for selecting high-quality tools. The discussion includes advances in psychometric theory, such as measurement invariance, and their implications for fair and responsible assessment. Practical considerations for test selection, interpretation, and application are highlighted, emphasizing the importance of culturally sensitive and scientifically robust methods. The chapter concludes with reflections on the future of psychological assessment in research and practice.

The 59-item Derriford Appearance Scale (DAS59; Moss, 2005) assesses appearance-related distress across various dimensions, including social anxiety, self-consciousness, and negative self-concept. The DAS can be administered both online and in-person to adolescents and adults and is available for £0.50 per use. This chapter first discusses the development of the DAS, which was created to address gaps in existing body image measures by capturing the broader psychological impact of visible differences. The DAS has a multidimensional factor structure, with five distinct factors identified through factor analysis, and strong psychometric properties, including high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha: .85 to .95) and test-retest reliability. This chapter also outlines the scale’s administration process, scoring procedures, and item response format. A shorter version, the DAS-24, is available for quicker assessments. The DAS has been validated across diverse demographic groups, ensuring its applicability in both clinical and research settings. Permissions and guidelines for use, including translations and modifications, are provided to ensure consistent and accurate application of the scale.

The 12-item Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale Modified for Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD-YBOCS; Phillips et al., 1997) is a widely used, semi-structured, clinician or rater-administered measure of a person’s current severity of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). To emphasize, the BDD-YBOCS is a severity measure and not a screening or diagnostic measure of BDD, and it should be used only in individuals who have already been diagnosed with BDD. The BDD-YBOCS has been the primary outcome measure in most treatment studies of BDD and is also used in clinical settings. It can be administered online or in-person to children, adolescents, and adults and is free to use, although a fee may be charged for more than a certain number of free uses. This chapter first discusses the development of the BDD-YBOCS and then provides evidence of its psychometrics. It has three factors: a core symptoms factor (BDD diagnostic criteria), a resistance-control factor (for thoughts/preoccupation), and a repetitive behaviors factor. Internal consistency, interrater reliability, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity support the use of the BDD-YBOCS. It is sensitive to change as a result of clinical intervention. This chapter directs readers for how to obtain the full list of items. Logistics of use, such as permissions, copyright, and contact information, are provided for readers.

Arts-mediated HIV/AIDS education received significant funding from Ghana’s donor partners and global health institutions during the first two decades of the pandemic. Yet these interventions had a mixed impact. On the one hand, there was – and continues to be – near universal awareness of HIV/AIDS, including risk factors and health outcomes. On the other hand, low condom use and persistent stigma suggest that knowledge has not translated into sexual health protective behaviours and psychosocial support. In Chapter 4, I examine how the arts were incorporated into HIV/AIDS interventions, focusing on the use of mass media campaigns to raise awareness and educate, and on ‘folk media’ to educate and empower communities. I discuss a study that applied a narrative approach to examine local knowledge and lived experience, the findings of which illustrate important contrasts between community and indigenous healing system responses to HIV/AIDS and official health service responses. I will conclude with reflections on what these insights yield for developing more robust arts-based HIV interventions in the future.

The Curvy Ideals Internalization Scale (CII; Walker et al., 2022) is an 11-item self-report measure developed to assess internalization of a thick or curvy body type. The CII can be administered online or in-person and is free to use for research purposes, and has been validated among White, Black, and Black/White Biracial women. The chapter first discusses the development of the CII and then provides evidence of its psychometric properties. More specifically, the CII has been identified to have a three-factor structure, with exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Internal consistency reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity support the CII’s use. The chapter provides the CII items in their entirety, instructions for administering and scoring the measure, and the item response scale. Logistics of use (e.g., copyright, permissions, and contact information) are provided for readers.

The Body Mass Index-Based Figure Rating Scale for Chinese Adolescents (C-BMI-FRS; Yu et al., 2022) provides a brief way to assess the body dissatisfaction of Chinese adolescents via calculating the discrepancy between their chosen actual and ideal body silhouettes. Height, weight, sex, and age data was calculated from a large sample of Chinese adolescents and a professional artist drew four equal height silhouettes for each sex (girls, boys) based on these data. The four silhouettes, which represented BMI values at the 20th, 40th, 60th, and 80th percentiles, were placed above a horizontal bar with 25 grids. Respondents choose the number (1-25) that represents the figure that they actually have and the figure they ideally would like to have. Their chosen ideal figure is then subtracted from their chosen actual figure. The figures and logistics of use, such as permissions, copyright, and contact information, are provided for readers.

The 20-item Fit Ideal Internalization Test (FIIT; Uhlmann et al., 2020) assesses girls’ and women’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that represent manifestations of three interrelated fit ideal internalization domains: personal idealization of the fit ideal, overvaluing of the fit ideal, and striving for a lean and toned female body shape. The FIIT operationalizes the fit ideal as a distinct set of ideals, values, and desires that differ from those associated with either the thin body ideal or the muscular body ideal. The FIIT can be administered online or in-person to female-identifying adolescent and adults and is free to use. This chapter first discusses the development of the FIIT and then provides evidence of its psychometrics. More specifically, the FIIT has a 3-factor structure within exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses: Fit Idealization (8 items), Fit Overvaluation (8 items), and Fit Behavioral Drive (4 items). Evidence has been found for a higher-order factor. Internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and incremental validity support the use of the FIIT. Next, this chapter provides the FIIT items in their entirety, instructions for administration and scoring, and the item response scale. Logistics of use, such as permissions, copyright, and contact information, are available for readers.

Belgium follows global standards in psychological assessments, and great attention is paid to issues concerning bias and fairness by legal authorities, test developers, and researchers. Anti-discrimination laws cover around nineteen protected grounds and align with European Union directives, but hiring discrimination persists. This chapter illustrates the tension between the law, test developers and researchers who promote proper test use, and practitioners who continue to rely on tools that can perpetuate bias, such as unstructured interviews and intuition-based decision-making. Despite comprehensive anti-discrimination regulations and affirmative action measures such as gender quotas, there are no legal requirements for the use of valid selection procedures in Belgium. Balancing validity and diversity is emphasized more in the public sector than the private sector. Although professional bodies offer guidelines for appropriate test use, they mainly target clinical settings rather than employment settings.

I begin Chapter 3 with Mr Wise and Mr Foolish Go to Town, an ill-conceived colonial-era educational film on syphilis prevention dispatched from the Colonial Office in London to the Gold Coast Governor’s office in Accra in 1944. This project, along with other arts-based interventions, was embedded in the colonial medicine system, which, in turn, was shaped by the ‘psychic life of the colonial encounter’ (Fanon, 1963). I contrast these colonial case studies with contemporary global health cases. I argue that the psychological and political dynamics underpinning encounters between global health actors and local communities (and experts) create a “psychic life of the global health encounter”. When intervention models are imported wholesale, without cultural grounding and with unexamined prejudices, a range of problems emerge, including the imposition of methods and policies that, at best, do not work and, at worst, can cause symbolic and material harm. However, just as Ghanaian communities resisted health communication interventions linked to colonial medical violence, they continue to resist present-day global (arts-based) health interventions perceived to be harmful.

Envisioning the experience and study of purpose as timeless pursuits, this chapter is used to imagine five transformative trajectories likely to guide purpose scholarship in the years ahead.

These trajectories aim to deepen understanding of purpose across cultural landscapes, against a backdrop of emerging technologies, and amid profound societal changes. They also strive to illuminate innovative solutions for helping more people feel purposeful while unifying diverse intellectual perspectives on purpose that can be leveraged to that end. To close out this volume with these trajectories is to hope they serve as beacons for researchers, practitioners, and lay readers alike, respectful of where purpose inquiry has been, is currently, and is likely heading.

The human brain follows a clear and reliable timeline of development. Various stages of development are key to specific functions. Decision-making, due to its complexity, cannot be pinpointed to one age in development or a critical period, it undergoes several key stages through the lifespan. In the prenatal stage, myelination is important for cognitively demanding tasks like decision-making. In the newborn stage, the baby is constantly forming new synapses, increasing connectivity. During childhood most children develop the ability to use logic in decisions. Adolescence is a critical period for synaptic pruning, improving efficiency. The prefrontal cortex is considered fully mature in adulthood, around the age of 25.

A paradox of the current era is that people living in advanced economies commonly struggle with finding a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives despite the unprecedented political, economic, and medical advances that have given them more freedom and opportunity to pursue long-term goals of their own choosing. How do we explain this affluence–purpose paradox – why aren’t more people taking advantage of the unprecedented benefits of modernity to choose and pursue meaningful and fulfilling goals? This chapter provides a broad-strokes review of possible explanations for this enigma and then focuses on the sociological concept of anomie, namely the deficits and conflictual nature of societal norms in modern societies. This sociological concept is framed in terms of contrasts between current identity societies and premodern role societies. This contrast is illustrated with a focus on the transition to adulthood, a critical period during which people now need to individually cope with the normative deficits of modernity as they form adult identities. The chapter concludes by pointing to policy directions for how identity societies can compensate for the normative deficits of modernity, thereby supporting people to take advantage of the affluence that modernity affords.