Eating disorder examination questionnaire: psychometric properties and norms for the Portuguese population

The first aim of the current study was to establish general population norms for the Portuguese version of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) in a large community sample of female adolescents and young women, as well, for a diverse Eating Disorder (ED) clinical sample, and for women with obesity without an ED. A second aim of the study was to assess the discriminant validity of the EDE-Q and providing cut-off scores for the total scale and subscales.

A sample of female adolescents and young women (N = 4091) from the general population, 416 women who met diagnostic criteria for an ED and 138 women seeking obesity treatment completed the EDE-Q.

Norms for the EDE-Q global subscale were provided. Within the community sample, norms were provided for both high school and college samples. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that the EDE-Q total score accurately discriminate between participants with and without an ED. Current norm contributes to the clinical utility of the EDE-Q, providing both a cut-off score and reliable change index. Results showed that the EDE-Q is a reliable instrument, but the theorized four subscales structure was not supported by an explorative factor analysis.

Results will help both researchers and clinicians interpreting the EDE-Q scores and to establish comparison with data produced in different countries.