Underlying dimensions and psychometric properties of the eating behaviors and body image test for preadolescent girls

Abstract

Developed a rating scale to measure body image satisfaction and eating behaviors and disturbances in preadolescent girls and evaluated the psychometric properties of the instrument. The Eating Behaviors arid Body Image Test (EBBIT) for preadolescent girls was administered to 291 fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade girls to identify the measure's factor structure. Body Image Silhouettes (BZS; Childress, Brewerton, Hodges, & Jarrell, 1993) were also administered, and height and weight measurements were obtained. Although four factors were predicted (maladaptive thoughts about body size, restrictive eating, binging, and compensatory behavior for overeating), corresponding to adult criteria for the diagnoses of anorexia and bulimia, factor analysis of the EBBIT suggested only two factors: Body linage Dissatisfaction Restrictive Eating and Binge Eating Behaviors. Only two compensatory behaviors (exercising to burn off food eaten and skipping meals after overeating) loaded on the scale, and they loaded on the Body Image Dissatisfaction/Restrictive Eating factor. Internal consistency and test-retest reliabilities were adequate to good, and initial validity of the scale was established by using scares on the Body Image Silhouettes, body mass index ratios, age, and race as predictors of EBBIT scores.