Objective: Body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) are common butoften underdiagnosed and undertreated, with limited understanding of theirdevelopment. The eight-item Generic Body-Focused Repetitive Behavior Scale-8(GBS-8) provides a practical, transdiagnostic self-report instrument. The aim ofthis study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Turkish GBS-8 and toexamine patterns of BFRBs in a clinical sample of adolescents and young adults.
Method: The sample included 362 adolescents and young adults aged 12-30 yearswith at least one subclinical or pathological BFRB. Adolescents completed the GBS-8, the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory(PedsQL), while young adults completed the GBS-8, the BSI, and the Short Form-12 Health Survey (SF-12). Researchers completed the Clinical Global Impression-Severity subscale (CGI-S) to assess the severity of BFRBs.
Results: Participants had a mean age of 17.74 ± 5.04 years, with 78.7% identifyingas female. The Turkish GBS-8 showed strong internal consistency and a well-fittingtwo-factor structure, including symptom severity (α = .853), impairment (α = .779),and the total score (α = .855). The test-retest reliability analysis further supportedthe scale’s validity and reliability, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of .851. A totalof 50 different BFRB patterns were identified, the most common of which wereskin picking, nail biting, lip/cheek biting, and knuckle cracking (8.56%), followedby only nail biting (8.01%) and a combination of nail biting, lip/cheek biting andknuckle cracking (7.18%).
Conclusion: The findings confirm the Turkish validity and reliability of the GBS-8, supporting its utility in clinical settings. This study also highlights the need forincreased awareness and tailored interventions to improve BFRBs management.
Keywords: Adolescents, body-focused repetitive behaviors, patterns, reliability,validity, young adults