Purpose

The EDEQ-4 is a self-report questionnaire consisting of 36 items. It is derived from the semi-structured clinical interview EDE (Eating Disorders Examination, 12th edition, Fairburn & Cooper, 1993), which is considered the recommended method for evaluating the frequency of vomiting. The EDEQ-4 measures pathological attitudes and behaviors of the patient towards food during the past four weeks (a period of 28 days).

Brief Description

The EDEQ-4 assesses binge eating and other behavioral symptoms of eating disorders, such as vomiting, overeating, and attempts at weight loss through dieting or use of laxatives, concern about food and body weight, as well as dissatisfaction with body shape and thoughts regarding self-image. The EDEQ-4 includes four subscales: concern about food intake, concern about body shape, concern about weight, and avoidance of eating.

Sample

The translation of the questionnaire followed both a critical and statistical method. The critical method required translation of the original by Greek-speaking psychologists (forward translation) and back-translation from Greek into English. Two independent bilingual translators conducted the translations separately from the original author, and the final Greek version of the questionnaire was determined. The statistical method aimed to establish equivalent scoring between the English and Greek versions.
To test the scale’s validity, 22 bilingual Greek women participated, 11 of whom first completed the English version, and the other 11 first completed the Greek version. The administration of both versions was done in a counterbalanced order to control for order effects in national scoring. Women were selected due to the significantly higher prevalence of eating disorders among women compared to men. To examine agreement between the versions, the scoring correlation between the English and Greek forms was calculated. The correlation coefficient r was 0.923 and found to be statistically significant at the 0.01 level (one-tailed).

Scoring Method

The degree of agreement with each statement regarding the past four weeks is scored as follows:

Reliability

Research studies have shown that the psychometric properties of the EDEQ-4 are excellent. Luce and Crowther (1999) found high internal consistency reliability and strong test-retest reliability for the EDEQ-4.

Key References

Binford, R. B., Le Grange, D., & Jellar, C.C. (2005). Eating disorders examination versus eating disorders examination-questionnaire in adolescents, with full and partial-syndrome bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 37, 44-49.
Fairburn, C. G., & Beglin, S. J. (1994). Assessment of eating disorders: Interview or self-report questionnaire? International Journal of Eating Disorders, 16, 363-370.
Fairburn, C. G., & Cooper, Z. (1993). The Eating Disorder Examination. In C.G. Fairburn, & G. T. Wilson (Eds), Binge Eating: Nature Assessment and Treatment (pp. 317-359). New York: Guilford.
Luce, K. H., & Crowther, J. H. (1999). The reliability of the Eating Disorder Examination: Self-report questionnaire version (EDE-Q). International Journal of Eating Disorders, 25, 349-351.
Mond, J. M., Hay, P. J., Rodgers, B., Owen, C., & Beaumont, P. J. V. (2004). Validity of the eating disorder examination questionnaire (EDE-Q) in screening for eating disorders in community samples. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42, 551-567.