Skip to main content

Validation of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire in Danish Eating Disorder Patients and Athletes.

Author
Abstract
:

The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) is a gold standard questionnaire to identify eating disorder symptoms but has not yet been validated in Danish. The scale consists of four theoretical constructs of disordered eating: Restraint eating, Eating concerns, Shape concerns and Weight concerns. However, the four-factor structure has been difficult to replicate across cultures. This study aimed to examine the factor structure and psychometric properties of the EDE-Q in Danish. The study consisted of four samples (aged 15-70): Patients with anorexia, bulimia and unspecified eating disorders ( = 101), patients with symptoms of binge-eating disorder ( = 300), recreational athletes ( = 404), and elite athletes ( = 526). Depending on the analysis performed, participants had to complete the EDE-Q, the SCOFF questionnaire for eating disorders or the Binge Eating Disorders Questionnaire. In accordance with international research, we found no evidence for a four-factor structure in the EDE-Q among patients or among athletes. But our results showed significant, positive associations between EDE-Q and SCOFF, BED-Q and MDI in all samples. We conclude that the internal structure of EDE-Q is low, while construct validity is high, making EDE-Q useful as an instrument to identify individuals with eating disorder symptoms, including recreational, and elite athletes.

Year of Publication
:
2021
Journal
:
Journal of clinical medicine
Volume
:
10
Issue
:
17
Date Published
:
2021
URL
:
https://www.mdpi.com/resolver?pii=jcm10173976
DOI
:
10.3390/jcm10173976
Short Title
:
J Clin Med
Download citation