Psychometric properties of the eating disorder examination-questionnaire in Japanese adolescents

Tomoyo Mitsui,Gen Komaki,Toshiyuki Yoshida

doi:10.1186/s13030-017-0094-8

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire version 6.0 (EDE-Q) is one of the most widely used questionnaires for eating disorders in Western countries, no research has addressed the psychometric properties of the EDE-Q in a Japanese sample.MethodsWe explored the factor structure of the EDE-Q and examined the internal consistency of the derived scales for Japanese participants (Study I), the convergent validity with other eating disorder-related psychological measures (Study II) and the distinction between the derived two body image-related factors with psychological measures (StudyIII). The EDE-Q was administered to 1,430 undergraduate students in Study I and in Study II was subsequently assessed by two self-report measures of eating pathology, the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) for 558 undergraduate students and the Eating Disorders Inventory-II (EDI-II) 111. In StudyIII, another 225 undergraduate students participated in an examination of the relationships of the derived body image-related subscales of the EDE-Q with the psychological measures of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Public Self-Consciousness Scale, and Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale.ResultsExploratory factor analysis of the EDE-Q identified four meaningful factors. Of the original four EDE-Q factors, “Restriction” and “Eating Concern” were retained. However, the other two factors, “Shape” and “Weight” Concerns, were combined into two different factors: “Fear of Obesity” and “Self-Esteem Based on Shape and Weight”. Internal consistency of the derived four factors was adequate, and the relationships with EDI-II and EAT-26 measures demonstrated convergent validity. Analysis of the distinction between “Fear of Obesity” and “Self-Esteem Based on Shape and Weight” revealed that only “Self-Esteem Based on Shape and Weight” was significantly associated with the measures assessing psychopathology related to eating disorders.ConclusionsThis study describes restructured factors of the EDE-Q that were tested with undergraduate students. The distinction between two factors, “Fear of Obesity” and “Self-Esteem Based on Shape and Weight”, may further the understanding of the psychopathology of the eating disorders of adolescent Japanese subjects to facilitate future developments in research and treatment.

Highlights

The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire version 6.0 (EDE-Q) is one of the most widely used questionnaires for eating disorders in Western countries, no research has addressed the psychometric properties of the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) in a Japanese sample
The subscales “Fear of Obesity” and “Self-Esteem Based on Shape and Weight” in the restructured Eating Disorder Examination interview (EDE)-Q were strong and moderately correlated with the two Eating Disorders Inventory-II (EDI-II) subscales of body image, Drive for Thinness and Body Dissatisfaction
Study III We further examined the relationships of the derived body image-related subscales of the EDE-Q, “Fear of Obesity” and “Self-Esteem Based on Shape and Weight”, with psychological measures that are generally related to the etiology of eating disorders [22, 38,39,40]: the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Public Self-Consciousness Scale, and Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale

Summary

Introduction

The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire version 6.0 (EDE-Q) is one of the most widely used questionnaires for eating disorders in Western countries, no research has addressed the psychometric properties of the EDE-Q in a Japanese sample. Several translated self-report measures of eating pathology, such as the Eating Disorders Inventory-II (EDI-II) [2] and the Eating Attitude Test-26 (EAT-26) [3] are available, they have certain limitations [4,5,6,7] for Japanese subjects, such as a high rate of false negative results for the detection of Bulimia Nervosa for EAT-26 [6] and the large number of items (91i) of EDI-II [7]. The EDE-Q is one of the most widely used questionnaires for eating disorders in Western countries [10], no research has addressed the psychometric properties of the EDE-Q in a Japanese sample. Research has found that the EDE-Q has good internal consistency [11,12,13] and temporal stability [11, 12, 14], as well as high convergent validity [15,16,17,18,19], discriminant validity, and sensitivity to change [18, 20, 21]

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion