Construct validity and reliability of the College Oriented Eating Disorders Screen (COEDS)

Area of Science:

• Psychological assessment
• Eating disorder research
• Public health

Background:

• Eating disorders pose significant risks to college students' well-being.
• Existing screening tools may not fully capture the nuances of disordered eating in this demographic.
• The College Oriented Eating Disorders Screen (COEDS) was initially developed to address this gap.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric properties of the final 7-item version of the COEDS.
• To assess the internal consistency and one-month test-retest reliability of the COEDS.
• To examine the construct validity of the COEDS against established measures of disordered eating.

Main Methods:

• Administered the 7-item COEDS to a college student sample.
• Analyzed internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha.
• Assessed test-retest reliability over a one-month interval.
• Examined construct validity through correlations with measures of eating disorder beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.

Main Results:

• The 7-item COEDS demonstrated high internal consistency.
• Strong one-month test-retest reliability was observed.
• The COEDS showed significant associations with independent measures of disordered eating attitudes and behaviors, supporting its construct validity.

Conclusions:

• The brief, 7-item COEDS is a psychometrically sound instrument for screening college students for eating disorder vulnerability.
• The findings support the continued use of the COEDS for early identification and intervention in college populations.
• Further research can explore the COEDS's utility in diverse college settings and its predictive value for eating disorder development.