Test–retest reliability of the Eating Disorder Inventory 2

doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2006.02.015

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Volume 61, Issue 4, October 2006, Pages 567-569

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2006.02.015 Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

This study reports on findings concerning the test–retest reliability of the Eating Disorder Inventory 2 (EDI-2).

Methods

Three hundred twenty-seven female inpatients who met the DSM-IV criteria for eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or eating disorders not otherwise specified) and 209 inpatients with a diagnosis of depression, obsessive–compulsive disorder, anxiety disorder, or somatoform disorder took part in the study. The EDI-2 was administered to the patients at the beginning of inpatient therapy and a second time 7 days later.

Results

All 11 EDI-2 subscales showed significant test–retest correlations ranging from .81 to .89 in the eating disorder group and from .75 to .94 in the group with other diagnoses.

Discussion

The test–retest reliabilities for the EDI-2 subscales are relatively high, indicating a good and acceptable stability over time. These results provide further evidence that the EDI-2 is an instrument with good reliability for the assessment of eating disorder symptoms.

Introduction

In the 1980s, Garner et al. [1] and Garner and Olmsted [2] developed the first version of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) as a new self-report measure for the assessment of attitudinal and behavioral dimensions relevant to anorexia and bulimia nervosa. The EDI consists of 64 items and eight subscales measuring (1) drive for thinness, (2) bulimia, (3) body dissatisfaction, (4) ineffectiveness, (5) perfectionism, (6) interpersonal distrust, (7) interoceptive awareness, and (8) maturity fears. Ten years later, Garner [3] published the EDI-2 as a second version of the inventory. In comparison with the earlier inventory, the EDI-2 retains the original 64 items with 27 additional items describing three new subscales: (9) asceticism, (10) impulse regulation, and (11) social insecurity.

Recently, the EDI-2 has been widely used to assess clinical features in therapy research and clinical practice. In addition to the Eating Disorder Examination [4], the EDI-2 is considered the gold standard for the assessment of eating disorder psychopathology. However, there are only few data concerning the test–retest reliability of the EDI-2. Currently, only four studies addressing this question have been published [5], [6], [7], [8]. Three of these investigations examined nonclinical samples such as students and staff nurses without an eating disorder [5], [6], [7]. Only one of the four studies [7] determined data on the three additional subscales of the EDI-2, but it did not concern adults. Only Tasca et al. [8] administered the EDI-2 twice to a female sample with binge eating disorders and reported test–retest correlations of the EDI-2 subscales from .67 to .82. Up to now, to our knowledge, no result concerning the test–retest reliability of the inventory in adult patients with anorexia and bulimia nervosa has been published. Due to the lack of these data, it is impossible to assess the stability of EDI-2 subscales over time, as well as the evidence of clinically significant changes on each of the scales in treatment studies.

Our objective in this study was to assess the test–retest reliability of the inventory in a clinical sample of adult patients with anorexia and bulimia nervosa and other psychiatric diagnoses.

Section snippets

Methods

We examined female inpatients of the Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine in Bad Bramstedt (Germany) who participated in a behavioral therapy program. At the beginning of inpatient treatment, 536 patients were included in the study and examined by using a personal semistructured interview regarding their diagnostic criteria for eating disorders, general psychopathology, weight, and eating behavior, as well as their family and occupational situations. Diagnoses were made according to DSM-IV

Results

The EDI-2 mean values of both groups are shown in Table 1. The differences between the first and second administration values were small and did not indicate a clinically significant change. However, although they were small, the effect sizes sometimes reached statistical significance. The patients with an eating disorder in Group A showed significant mean differences on 4 of the 11 EDI-2 subscales. Patients with other diagnoses in Group B showed no significant mean difference.

The correlations

Discussion

The study was designed to examine the test–retest reliability of the EDI-2. The results demonstrated that the EDI-2 subscales are quite stable over time. Except for one scale, all Pearson product–moment correlation values were greater than .80. For most of the 11 subscales, we found reliabilities that were higher than the reported data in the literature.

As these results refer only to female inpatients, further studies are required to determine the test–retest reliability of the inventory in

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Short communicationTest–retest reliability of the Eating Disorder Inventory 2

Abstract

Objective

Methods

Results

Discussion

Introduction

Section snippets

Methods

Results

Discussion

Development and validation of a multidimensional eating disorder inventory for anorexia nervosa and bulimia

Int J Eat Disord

The Eating Disorder Inventory Manual

Eating Disorder Inventory-2 Manual

The Eating Disorder Examination

Short communication
Test–retest reliability of the Eating Disorder Inventory 2