Registered report: Initial development and validation of the eating disorders safety behavior scale

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Anxiety and eating disorders (EDs) frequently co-occur, necessitating research into anxiety-related factors maintaining EDs.
• Safety behaviors, aimed at preventing feared outcomes or reducing anxiety, are common in anxiety disorders and EDs.
• Current assessments lack a comprehensive measure for ED-specific overt avoidance and safety behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and psychometrically evaluate a comprehensive self-report measure of eating disorder-specific safety behaviors.
• To refine the measure based on participant feedback in an initial study.
• To assess the measure's factor structure, validity, and reliability in a large sample.

Main Methods:

• Stage 1 Registered Report outlining the development of a new self-report scale.
• Study 1: Recruit 50 women with EDs to pilot test and refine the scale.
• Study 2: Evaluate psychometric properties (factor structure, known-groups validity, internal consistency, convergent/divergent validity) in a large ED sample and a healthy control group.

Main Results:

• The study aims to develop a novel, comprehensive self-report measure for ED-specific safety behaviors.
• Psychometric evaluation will establish the measure's validity and reliability.
• Findings will differentiate between individuals with and without EDs regarding safety behaviors.

Conclusions:

• A validated, comprehensive self-report measure for eating disorder-specific safety behaviors is needed.
• This new measure will aid in understanding and treating the interplay between anxiety and eating disorders.
• The developed scale will serve as a valuable tool for researchers and clinicians.