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Evaluation of body experience questionnaires in eating disorders in female patients (AN/BN) and nonclinical participants
Author(s) -
Probst Michel,
Pieters Guido,
Vanderlinden Johan
Publication year - 2008
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/eat.20531
Subject(s) - eating disorders , bulimia nervosa , psychology , anorexia nervosa , eating attitudes test , clinical psychology , normative , population , eating disorder inventory , psychiatry , anorexia , medicine , philosophy , environmental health , epistemology
Objective: Body image disturbance is an important factor in the development and the treatment of eating disorders. Therefore, evaluations of different instruments for measuring body image disturbances are necessary. Method: Four widely used questionnaires are evaluated: The Body Attitude Test, The Eating Disorder Inventory, The Body Shape Questionnaire, and the Body Attitude Questionnaire. Psychometric properties of these questionnaires are investigated in 228 patients with eating disorder and 389 female controls. Normative values for a Flemish population are provided. Results: All questionnaires have good psychometric properties. To separate patients from controls all four questionnairescan be used. To differentiate between patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, the Body Attitude Test and the Body Dissatisfaction subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory show good criterion‐related validity. Conclusion: All these measures are useful as preliminary screening devices to identify populations with a high proportion or risk for developing eating disorders. More research is needed because there is still a great lack of clarity about what constitutes the normal range of attitudes towards the body. © 2008 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2008