Ryan J Marek1, Anthony M Tarescavage2, Yossef S Ben-Porath2, Kathleen Ashton3, Leslie J Heinberg3. 1. Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. Electronic address: rmarek1@kent.edu. 2. Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. 3. Department of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The Binge Eating Scale (BES) is a widely-used self-report measure of binge eating severity. Hood et al. reported a 2-factor structure for the BES in a sample of bariatric surgery candidates, with factors labeled feelings/cognitions and behavioral manifestations. The present study aims to replicate and extend the factor structure obtained by Hood et al. by testing the utility of a bifactor model that removes binge eating severity variance, which the total BES score purports to assess, in another sample of bariatric surgery candidates. METHODS: Bariatric surgery candidates (n = 517; 71.2% women; mean body mass index = 49.50 kg/m(2); SD = 10.17) were sampled. Twenty-four percent met DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for binge eating disorder. RESULTS: Consistent with previous research, a 2-factor structure for the BES was supported; however, the 2 factors were substantially correlated (r = .89). A bifactor model significantly improved model fit, supporting the presence of a higher-order severity factor accounting for a significant amount of variance. This factor was primarily marked by binge eating severity as demonstrated by associations with number of objective binge eating episodes and DSM-IV-TR diagnosis. In the bifactor model, the feelings/cognitions factor was modestly associated with self-reported mood psychopathology. However, contrary to expectations, the behavioral manifestation factor was not associated with empirically derived behavioral problems. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings partially converge with those of Hood et al. However, the use of the BES as a 2-factor measure is not recommended at this point because of lack of incremental validity demonstrated by the behavioral manifestation factor. Continued use of the BES as a unidimensional measure of binge eating severity, in conjunction with a comprehensive clinical interview, can provide useful guidance for presurgical treatment recommendations.
BACKGROUND: The Binge Eating Scale (BES) is a widely-used self-report measure of binge eating severity. Hood et al. reported a 2-factor structure for the BES in a sample of bariatric surgery candidates, with factors labeled feelings/cognitions and behavioral manifestations. The present study aims to replicate and extend the factor structure obtained by Hood et al. by testing the utility of a bifactor model that removes binge eating severity variance, which the total BES score purports to assess, in another sample of bariatric surgery candidates. METHODS: Bariatric surgery candidates (n = 517; 71.2% women; mean body mass index = 49.50 kg/m(2); SD = 10.17) were sampled. Twenty-four percent met DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for binge eating disorder. RESULTS: Consistent with previous research, a 2-factor structure for the BES was supported; however, the 2 factors were substantially correlated (r = .89). A bifactor model significantly improved model fit, supporting the presence of a higher-order severity factor accounting for a significant amount of variance. This factor was primarily marked by binge eating severity as demonstrated by associations with number of objective binge eating episodes and DSM-IV-TR diagnosis. In the bifactor model, the feelings/cognitions factor was modestly associated with self-reported mood psychopathology. However, contrary to expectations, the behavioral manifestation factor was not associated with empirically derived behavioral problems. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings partially converge with those of Hood et al. However, the use of the BES as a 2-factor measure is not recommended at this point because of lack of incremental validity demonstrated by the behavioral manifestation factor. Continued use of the BES as a unidimensional measure of binge eating severity, in conjunction with a comprehensive clinical interview, can provide useful guidance for presurgical treatment recommendations.
Authors: Claudio Imperatori; Emanuela Bianciardi; Cinzia Niolu; Mariantonietta Fabbricatore; Paolo Gentileschi; Giorgio Di Lorenzo; Alberto Siracusano; Marco Innamorati Journal: Nutrients Date: 2020-03-01 Impact factor: 5.717