Internal Structure and Measurement Invariance of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) in a (Nearly) Representative Dutch Community Sample

Abstract

The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire is a widely used instrument for assessment of emotional, external and restrained eating. The aim of the present study is to (i) analyse its internal structure using exploratory structural equation modelling; (ii) to assess its measurement invariance with respect to sex, BMI, age and level of education; and (iii) to evaluate the relations of the factors with these variables. Except that women were slightly over-represented, the sample (n = 2173) closely followed the sociodemographic characteristics of the overall Dutch population. The three theoretical factors that emerged from the analysis were in close correspondence with the three scales for emotional, external and restrained eating. Only two items (item 3 -'desire to eat when nothing to do…' and item 21 -'resist delicious food...') presented problematic loadings. The questionnaire showed satisfactory measurement invariance, and expected patterns of mean differences and relations were found. All in all, the results highlight the adequate psychometric properties of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire.

The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18 Polish version: factor structure analysis among normal weight and obese adult women

“…Studies have shown that the level of emotional eating depend on age and level of education [42]. With better education and younger age, the tendency towards emotional eating increases [41]. It can therefore be concluded that differences between the results obtained in the current and other studies are due to socio-demographic differences between samples.…”

“…The results of the current study may be additionally explained in the context of age and education [41]. In females, the higher the degree of flexible restrictions on eating, the lower the body fat and waist circumference [18].…”

“…Cognitive restraint is positively associated with BMI in individuals with normal body weight (this relationship is not found in overweight people) [42]. High BMI is an important predictor of increased restriction eating [42], as is education (lower level of education is associated with weaker tendency towards dietary restrictions) and age (the level of restrictions increases with age) [41]. Another explanation for the level of cognitive restraint can be exercise and profession, because some professions are associated with food intake and body weight control (e.g.…”

Eating behaviors in a male and female community sample: psychometric properties of the DEBQ

“…research with different adult samples has reported adequate psychometric properties for the questionnaire, not just in its original version (van strien et al, 1986) but also in its adaptation to english (Wardle, 1987), French (lluch et al, 1996), turkish (Bozan et al, 2011), italian (Dakanalis et al, 2013), and spanish (cebolla et al, 2014). several studies support the adequate internal consistency of the questionnaire in adult samples (Barrada, van strien, & cebolla, 2013;Bozan et al, 2011;cebolla et al, 2014;Dakanalis et al, 2013;lluch et al, 1996;van strien et al, 1986;van strien & Koenders, 2012), as well as its three-factor internal structure measuring dietary restraint, emotional eating and external eating (Barrada et al, 2013;Bozan et al, 2011;cebolla et al, 2014;Dakanalis et al, 2013;lluch et al, 1996;van strien et al, 1986). a gender effect has also been found, with women scoring higher than men on the DeBQ (Dakanalis et al, 2013;pothos, tapper, & calitri, 2009;Wardle, 1987).…”

Psychometric Properties of the Malay Version of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) in a Sample of Malaysian Adults Attending a Health Care Facility

“…to eat when you have nothing to do?' (25,27); Item 28 'Do you have the desire to eat when you are bored or restless?' (25); and Item 21 'Can you resist eating delicious food?'…”