Bijie Tie1, Gui Chen2, Jinbo He3. 1. School of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China. 2. College of Educational Science, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, Hunan, China. 3. School of Humanities and Social Science, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, 518172, Guangdong, China. anlfhe@gmail.com.
Abstract
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to provide preliminary psychometric evidence for the Chinese version of the Inflexible Eating Questionnaire (C-IEQ) among a large sample of Chinese adolescents. METHODS: For testing the psychometric properties of the C-IEQ, a total of 2241 (Mage = 13.91 years; 46.4% boys) adolescents from mainland China responded to the survey. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine the factor structure of the C-IEQ. Measurement invariance by gender was examined by both multi-group CFA and differential item functioning (DIF). Convergent validity of the C-IEQ was assessed via examining the correlations between the C-IEQ scores and theoretically related constructs (e.g., orthorexia nervosa symptomatology, eating disorder symptomatology, and body image inflexibility). RESULTS: The unidimensional structure with correlated errors of the C-IEQ showed good model fit (χ2 = 1674.05, df = 44, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.93; TLI = 0.91; RMSEA = 0.13; SRMR = 0.06). The C-IEQ had an adequate internal consistency (α = 0.89) and demonstrated strong measurement invariance across genders. Moreover, the scores of the C-IEQ showed significant correlations with theoretically correlated constructs: orthorexia nervosa symptomatology (girls; r = 0.53 p < 0.001, boys; r = 0.45 p < 0.001), eating disorder symptomatology (girls; r = 0.32 p < 0.001, boys; r = 0.25 p < 0.001) body image inflexibility (girls; r = 0.41 p < 0.001, boys; r = 0.36 p < 0.001), suggesting good convergent validity of the C-IEQ. CONCLUSION: The C-IEQ showed good psychometric properties in a sample of Chinese adolescents and can be used in future studies to assess eating-specific psychological inflexibility among Chinese adolescents. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to provide preliminary psychometric evidence for the Chinese version of the Inflexible Eating Questionnaire (C-IEQ) among a large sample of Chinese adolescents. METHODS: For testing the psychometric properties of the C-IEQ, a total of 2241 (Mage = 13.91 years; 46.4% boys) adolescents from mainland China responded to the survey. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine the factor structure of the C-IEQ. Measurement invariance by gender was examined by both multi-group CFA and differential item functioning (DIF). Convergent validity of the C-IEQ was assessed via examining the correlations between the C-IEQ scores and theoretically related constructs (e.g., orthorexia nervosa symptomatology, eating disorder symptomatology, and body image inflexibility). RESULTS: The unidimensional structure with correlated errors of the C-IEQ showed good model fit (χ2 = 1674.05, df = 44, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.93; TLI = 0.91; RMSEA = 0.13; SRMR = 0.06). The C-IEQ had an adequate internal consistency (α = 0.89) and demonstrated strong measurement invariance across genders. Moreover, the scores of the C-IEQ showed significant correlations with theoretically correlated constructs: orthorexia nervosa symptomatology (girls; r = 0.53 p < 0.001, boys; r = 0.45 p < 0.001), eating disorder symptomatology (girls; r = 0.32 p < 0.001, boys; r = 0.25 p < 0.001) body image inflexibility (girls; r = 0.41 p < 0.001, boys; r = 0.36 p < 0.001), suggesting good convergent validity of the C-IEQ. CONCLUSION: The C-IEQ showed good psychometric properties in a sample of Chinese adolescents and can be used in future studies to assess eating-specific psychological inflexibility among Chinese adolescents. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.
Authors: Joachim Westenhoefer; Daniel Engel; Claus Holst; Jürgen Lorenz; Matthew Peacock; James Stubbs; Stephen Whybrow; Monique Raats Journal: Eat Behav Date: 2012-11-13