Development and validation of the eating disorder fear questionnaire and interview: Preliminary investigation of eating disorder fears.
Anxiety is highly characteristic of eating disorders (ED). Despite high levels of anxiety, little is known about ED specific fears. The current study developed and tested the psychometric properties of two measures of ED fears in two samples (N = 513 undergraduates; N = 129 clinical EDs): a self-report measure (Eating Disorder Fear Questionnaire; EFQ) and interview (Eating Disorder Fear Interview; EFI). We found strong support for a five-factor EFQ consisting of subscales assessing fear of weight gain, social consequences, personal consequences, physical sensations, and social eating. We found strong support for a six-factor EFI consisting of subscales assessing fear of food, weight gain, physical sensations, personal consequences, social consequences, and exercise-related fears. Both measures had adequate to strong internal consistency and convergent, divergent, incremental, and construct validity. These measures can be used to identify ED fears that can be targeted in personalized treatment. These data show that ED fears are multifaceted and heterogeneous.
['Levinson|Cheri A|CA|', 'Vanzhula|Irina A|IA|', 'Christian|Caroline|C|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D001007:Anxiety D005239:Fear D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders D005260:Female D006801:Humans D007406:Interview, Psychological D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D011594:Psychometrics D015203:Reproducibility of Results D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D055815:Young Adult
Eating disorder fear Eating disorders Anxiety Assessment Fears of food