Reliability and validity of the Norwegian translation of the Child Eating Disorder Examination (ChEDE)

Abstract

The Child Eating Disorder Examination (ChEDE) is a valid and reliable semi-structured interview, which measures eating-disorder specific psychopathology in children and young adolescents. The instrument is an adaptation of version 12.0D of the original Eating Disorder Examination (EDE 12.0) for adults. The Norwegian translation of the ChEDE is currently the only instrument for assessing eating disorder psychopathology in Norwegian children and adolescents. This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Norwegian translation of the ChEDE 12.0. The Norwegian version of ChEDE 12.0 was administered to 15 Norwegian children with anorexia nervosa (AN), 15 children with diabetes mellitus type 1 (DM) and two groups of 15 age-matched controls. The groups were compared using a matched pairs design. The results showed that the subscale scores of the AN group were significantly higher than those of the other groups, and the DM comparison group did not differ from its control group. The current AN group scored significantly higher on the Shape Concern subscale than the previous UK sample, with implications for construct validity or cross-cultural effects worthy of further study. Inter-rater reliability was generally high (r=0.91 to 1.00), although there were significant differences between raters on specific items for individual participants. Alpha coefficients for each of the ChEDE subscales indicated a high degree of internal consistency. It was concluded that the Norwegian version of the ChEDE 12 has adequate psychometric properties and can be recommended for clinical and research use with young people with eating disorders in Norway.