The SBC-6: Development of a Brief German Scale of Body Connection and Cross-Language Validation in English and Spanish.

Background: Body connection has become an increasingly prominent construct in mental and sexual health research. It is typically defined by two dimensions (body awareness and body dissociation) and assessed via the Scale of Body Connection (SBC). However, the SBC is comparatively lengthy, and previous cross-cultural research has indicated some potentially problematic items. To facilitate efficient and reliable research in German-speaking contexts, a psychometrically sound short German instrument is needed. Methods: We translated the full SBC item pool into German and derived a short German version based on ant colony optimization. We examined the reliability and validity of the Short Scale of Body Connection (SBC-6) within this German adult sample (n = 3,770) and subsequently cross-validated the corresponding six-item measure in samples from Spain (n = 578) and the United States (n = 2,186). Results: The findings support the reliability and validity of the SBC-6 in Germany, Spain, and the United States. Measurement invariance testing suggests the SBC-6 functions similarly between language groups. Discussion: The SBC-6 appears to be an economical and psychometrically sound instrument for assessing body connection across international populations. We recommend additional translations and cross-cultural validation research as well as more rigorous study of gender and cultural differences in body connection.