The 26-Item Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26): Psychometric Properties and Factor Structure in Vegetarians and Vegans

McLean, Courtney; Kulkarni, Jayashri; Sharp, Gemma

doi:10.3390/nu15020297

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…This concern was supported by our results, which found poor factor loadings for items in the Bulimia and Food Preoccupation factors, likely due to our non-clinical sample. This aligns with recent studies that question the EAT-26’s applicability in non-clinical settings ( 48 , 49 ). Moreover, critics argue that the EAT-26 may be overly complex for use in general health surveys ( 50 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Assessing the factor structure of the Eating Attitude Test-26 among undergraduate students in Malaysia

Wider,

Mutang,

Chua

et al. 2023

Front. Nutr.

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The objective of this study was to assess the factor structure of the 26-item Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26) through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) among 1,084 undergraduate students in Malaysia. The initial findings indicated a lack of support for the proposed three-factor structure. Model modifications were made due to the inadequate initial fit. The fit of the model was significantly improved by excluding items with factor loadings below 0.40 and integrating residual covariances. In conclusion, it is necessary to make contextual modifications to the EAT-26 in order to effectively utilize it among Malaysian undergraduates. This highlights the significance of cultural adaptations in psychological instruments.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Assessing the factor structure of the Eating Attitude Test-26 among undergraduate students in Malaysia

Wider,

Mutang,

Chua

et al. 2023

Front. Nutr.

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“…The V-EDS was designed to be integrated into research and clinical settings to discriminate between fundamental factors driving increasing eating disorder pathology (e.g., restricting food to influence weight versus restricting food groups to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet). The V-EDS also attempts to overcome some limitations in the field as a quick, inexpensive, and efficient way to detect those who may need further evaluation [ 11 , 12 ]. The V-EDS supports a unidimensional factor structure with excellent internal consistency (α = 0.95–0.96) and convergent validity (0.87–0.88), and moderate discriminate validity (0.45–0.55) in separate samples of vegetarians and vegans [ 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary identification of clinical cut-off of the vegetarian vegan eating disorder screener (V-EDS) in a community and self-reported clinical sample of vegetarians and vegans

McLean,

Chen,

Fielding

et al. 2024

J Eat Disord

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Background The vegetarian vegan eating disorder screener (V-EDS) is an 18-item self-report screening tool designed to assess the unique elements of eating disorder symptomology in vegetarians and vegans. Previous results have suggested strong initial psychometric properties in non-clinical community samples of vegetarians and vegans. The present study sought to identify a preliminary threshold cut-off score to discriminate eating disorder pathology in a self-reported clinical and community sample. Methods This study involved secondary analysis using data collected in McLean et al. (Development and preliminary validation of a novel eating disorder screening tool for vegetarians and vegans: the V-EDS, 2023), comprising 599 non-clinical participants and 51 self-reported clinical participants. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to compute possible cut-off values for the V-EDS. Results: ROC analysis indicated good performance of the V-EDS (area under the curve = 0.87), with integration of the Youden index demonstrating a global score of ≥ 18 to be optimal in predicting clinical caseness with good sensitivity (0.804) and specificity (0.843). Conclusions The present study fills an important gap as the first to investigate an optimal V-EDS score to discriminate level of impairment from eating disorder pathology in a sample of vegetarian and vegan community and self-reported clinical participants. We extend the utility of the V-EDS in discovering good discrimination power in classifying clinical caseness with a cut-off score of 18 shown to optimise the trade-off between sensitivity and specificity. Future research should focus on expanding the psychometric properties of the V-EDS in larger and more diverse participant groups, including gender, age, cultural identity, and eating disorder history.

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“…The identification of eating disorders can be achieved through clinician-led interviews, such as the widely used Eating Disorder Examination Interview (EDE; [ 17 ]), or self-report questionnaires which are most commonly employed as screening or assessment tools. However, literature to date examining the use of eating disorder tools in strict vegetarian and vegan populations is scarce and focuses largely on the employment of self-report questionnaires [ 11 , 18 ]. For example, Heiss, Boswell [ 19 ] were unable to support the original and alternate factor models of the gold-standard eating disorder tool, the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q; [ 20 ]) in a sample of 318 vegans, and further validated in separate analyses of vegetarians and vegans [ 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and preliminary validation of a novel eating disorder screening tool for vegetarians and vegans: the V-EDS

McLean,

Chen,

Song

et al. 2024

J Eat Disord

Self Cite

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Background Eating disorders have one of the highest mortality of all mental illnesses but are associated with low rates of screening and early intervention. In addition, there remains considerable uncertainty regarding the use of current standardised screening tools in measuring eating pathology in vegetarians and vegans. With these groups presenting as potential at-risk groups for disordered eating development, the present study aimed to develop and preliminary validate a novel eating disorder screening tool, the Vegetarian Vegan Eating Disorder Screener (V-EDS). Methods We utilised a mixed-methods approach, comprising four phases. Results A conceptual framework was developed from 25 community, clinician, and lived experience interviews and used to derive a preliminary set of 163 items (Phase 1). Phase 2 piloted the items to establish face and content validity through cognitive debriefing interviews of 18 additional community, clinician, and lived experience participants, resulting in a reduced, revised questionnaire of 53 items. Phase 3 involved scale purification using Item Response Theory in analysis of 230 vegetarians and 230 vegans resulting in a further reduced 18-item questionnaire. Phase 4 validated the screening tool in a large community sample of 245 vegetarians and 405 vegans using traditional psychometric analysis, finding the V-EDS supports a unidimensional factor structure with excellent internal consistency (α = 0.95–0.96) and convergent validity (0.87–0.88), and moderate discriminate validity (0.45–0.55). Conclusions This study provided strong initial support for the psychometric validity and theoretical assumptions of the novel V-EDS screening tool. The V-EDS has the potential to increase early intervention rates for vegetarians and vegans experiencing eating disorder symptoms, further supporting advocacy and treatment approaches for these expanding dietary groups.

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The 26-Item Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26): Psychometric Properties and Factor Structure in Vegetarians and Vegans

Cited by 8 publications

References 78 publications

Assessing the factor structure of the Eating Attitude Test-26 among undergraduate students in Malaysia

Assessing the factor structure of the Eating Attitude Test-26 among undergraduate students in Malaysia

Preliminary identification of clinical cut-off of the vegetarian vegan eating disorder screener (V-EDS) in a community and self-reported clinical sample of vegetarians and vegans

Development and preliminary validation of a novel eating disorder screening tool for vegetarians and vegans: the V-EDS

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