Psychometric characteristics of the Children's Eating Attitudes Test in a Spanish sample

Abstract

Objective The aim of this study was to test the psychometric properties of a Catalan adapted version of the Children's Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT). Method With a double phase-design, 1336 Spanish students (650 girls and 686 boys) from the 5th and 6th grade answered the ChEAT and an adapted version of the Body Areas Satisfaction Scale (BASS). The Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents (DICA-R) was used in the second phase to assess 258 of these students and their parents. Results A principal axis factoring analysis yielded four factors that accounted for 49.4% of the variance labelled ‘Fear and preoccupation of getting fat’, ‘Social pressure to eat’, ‘Food preoccupation’ and ‘Food restriction’. Internal reliability and test–retest reliability were satisfactory. Concurrent validity was higher for weight dissatisfaction. According to the EDNOS diagnoses obtained, the examined cutoff in the ChEAT was not very sensitive but it was very specific. Discussion Although the Catalan version of the ChEAT was reliable, it is recommended that the cutoff be lower so that the maximum number of subjects at risk of eating disorders in a school population can be detected. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.