Eating Disorder Inventory in Sweden: description, cross-cultural comparison, and clinical utility

The Eating Disorder Inventory is one of very few tests for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa that measures not only symptoms but also psychological characteristics believed to be central in these disorders. This study of 425 patients and control subjects showed that patients had markedly higher scores than controls and recovered patients on all eight scales. Individuals with bulimia nervosa scored higher on a few of the scales than those with anorexia nervosa, as did binge eaters at all weights compared with those who only restricted eating. Comparison with Canadian subjects showed several differences in normal controls. Since the technical properties of our Swedish version of the EDI were excellent, these differences may be meaningful rather than artifacts of the translation. Finally, the analyses indicated that the EDI may be useful for purposes of screening for eating disorders, and possibly for differential diagnosis.