• Original EDE was a created by Cooper and Fairburn (1987) however this measure was labour and time intensive and required specialized training to administer.
• Revised to the EDE-Q, a self-report version, by Fairburn and Beglin in 1994.
• EDE (12th revision) is referred to as the gold standard of eating disorder assessment.
• Assesses bulimia nervosa (BN) symptomatology with DSM-IV
• Has a BED (Binge Eating Disorder) version; EDE-Q does not test for BED.
• Four subscales: Dietary restraint, Eating concern, Shape concern and Weight concern
• Distinguishes between subjective and objective bulimic episodes (SBE and OBE)
• Twenty-eight day timeframe; EDE also can be used with a 6 month timeframe (consistent with that needed for a DSM diagnosis)
Versions:
• English
• Shorter EDE-Q-I (includes two items from the EDE-Q)
Type of Measure:
• EDE is a semi-structured interview; EDE-Q is self-completed
• EDE: 62 items concerned with the previous four weeks, takes 30 minutes to one hour to complete
• EDE-Q: 36 items, takes 15 minutes to complete
• Both scales are rated on a seven-point scale
Target Population:
• Adults
• Adolescents
• There is a version for children (ChEDE)
Scoring:
• Summed score
• Scores of four or higher on key items considered to lie in the clinical range
• Cut-scores of 56 for the EDE-Q
Psychometrics:
Objective binge episode (OBE) frequency in BN and subjective binge episode frequency in BN and PBN were higher with the EDE compared with the EDE-Q. Self-induced vomiting was correlated with both measures” (Binford et al., 2005, p. 44).
Mond et al., (2004): Community sample of 195 women aged 18-45 from Canberra, Australia. Used the EDE and EDE-Q. Note: global scale refers to all subscales combined.
• Validity: Concurrent: discrepancy scores on items between EDE and EDE-Q had a mean of 0.53, positive correlation between discrepancy scores and global EDE-Q (r = 0.49); Criterion: For total sample there was a correlation between BMI (Body Mass Index) and global scores on the EDE-Q (r = 0.26) and EDE (r = 0.17).
• Global EDE-Q, at a score of 2.3, had a sensitivity of 0.92, a specificity of 0.86, and a positive predictive value of 0.30, thus indicating a cut-score of 56.
• Eight EDE-Q items best distinguish cases from non-cases of eating disorder: "frequency of OBEs, use of exercise as a means of weight control, use of self-induced vomiting, use of laxatives, 'guilt about eating', 'social eating', 'discomfort seeing body', and avoidance of exposure" (p. 561).
Utility for prevalence surveys:
• Untested but potentially good
Research Applicability:
• Good
Copyright, Cost, and Source Issues:
• Unavailable
Original reference:
Cooper, Z., & Fairburn, C. (1987). The eating disorder examination: A semi-structured interview for the assessment of the specific psychopathology of eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 6(1), 1-8.
Source References:
Binford, R. B., Le Grange, D., & Jellar, C. C. (2005). Eating disorders examination versus eating disorders examination-questionnaire in adolescents with full and partial-syndrome bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 37(1), 44-49.
Supporting References:
Mond, J. M., Hay, P. J., Rodgers, B., Owen, C., & Beumont, P. J. V. (2004). Validity of the eating disorder examination questionnaire (EDE-Q) in screening for eating disorders in community samples. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42, 551-567.
Celio, A. A., Wilfley, D. E., Crow, S. J., Mitchell, J., & Walsh, B. T. (2004). A comparison of the binge eating scale, questionnaire for eating and weight patterns-revised, and eating disorder examination questionnaire with instructions with the eating disorder examination in the assessment of binge eating disorder and its symptoms. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 36(4), 434-444.
Strengths:
• EDE is widely used
• EDE-Q has good potential for epidemiological studies
• DSM-IV conceptualization
Weaknesses:
• EDE-Q may be better suited for adults than for adolescents
• EDE-Q tends to overestimate binge eating frequency when compared to the EDE