The eating disorder belief questionnaire: psychometric properties in an adolescent sample.

The current study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Eating Disorder Belief Questionnaire in older adolescent females. Three hundred and sixty-seven girls aged 17 or 18 who were in secondary school education completed the Eating Disorder Belief Questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory and the Eating Attitudes Test. They also provided information on height and weight. The Eating Disorder Belief Questionnaire had an almost identical factor structure to that previously found in adult women, although the factors were not quite as discrete as those in the original validation study. Internal consistency for each factor was high and construct validity (including convergent and criterion related validity) was very good. The almost identical factor structure, and other good psychometric properties, found for the Eating Disorder Belief Questionnaire in the current study suggests that it is an appropriate measure for use in clinical settings and in research studies involving 17-18 year old girls. This includes older adolescents with eating disorders. The possibility that adolescents show a developmental tendency for less separation between the constructs assessed, when compared with adults, is of particular interest, and requires further exploration.