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Validity of the Arabic version of the eating attitude test
Author(s) -
AlSubaie Abdullah,
AlShammari Sulaiman,
Bamgboye Elijah,
AlSabhan Khalid,
AlShehri Sulaiman,
Bannah Azzah Ramadan
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199611)20:3<321::aid-eat12>3.0.co;2-2
Subject(s) - eating attitudes test , arabic , eating disorders , psychology , anorexia , predictive value , anorexia nervosa , clinical psychology , test (biology) , bulimia nervosa , psychiatry , medicine , paleontology , linguistics , philosophy , biology
Objectives: To assess the validity of the Eating Attitude Test (EAT‐26) in Arabic as a screening instrument in nonclinical populations. Methods: A representative sample of Grade 7–12 female students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was selected randomly but proportional to various social classes. The girls were independently assessed by the EAT‐26 and a structured clinical interview. Results: One hundred twenty‐nine subjects were included. Twenty‐five were identified by EAT‐26 as having abnormal eating attitudes. One case was identified as anorexia nervosa by the interview and no cases of bulimia were found. Discussion: EAT‐26 was found to be highly sensitive and reasonably specific. Like some other studies in non‐Western populations, it yielded a high false positive rate and a low positive predictive value. Because of its low cost and practicality, EAT‐26 might be a useful tool in screening large populations for eating disorders. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.