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