Development and preliminary validation of a Finnish version of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q)

Background: Eating behaviour can be viewed as a continuum, ranging from extremely restrictive to extremely disinhibited eating. Valid and reliable instruments are needed to ensure detection of individuals with risk for eating disorders (ED). Self-report methods are the most feasible, cost, and time efficient. One of the most widely used self-reports is the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q).Aim: The aim of this study was to develop a Finnish version of the EDE-Q version 6.0 and to assess its psychometric properties in adolescents, adults, and ED patients.Methods: The present study utilized data from three different samples: adolescents (n=242), adults (n=133), and ED patients (n=52). The patient group comprised different EDs, but individual ED diagnoses were not studied separately. Data was collected January 2014 through June 2015.Results: The Finnish version of the EDE-Q showed acceptable-to-excellent internal consistency on all sub-scales in all three samples and discriminated patients from healthy individuals. Female participants generally scored higher than male and sex differences were more pronounced among the younger age group.Conclusions: The Finnish version of the EDE-Q can, based on this study, be regarded as reliable, valid, and functional. Further studies are needed to evaluate the population norms and to test the validity in individual ED diagnoses.