Validity of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 Eating Concerns (EAT) Scale: A study with National...

Development and validation of screening tools for eating disorders is crucial for enhancing early intervention efforts among military-connected populations. The recently released Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3) includes the novel Eating Concerns (EAT) scale to assess aspects of problematic eating behavior. Our study evaluated the effectiveness of EAT by comparing it to a multidimensional indicator of eating disorder-related pathology. We examined responses from 349 U.S. National Guard veterans and their romantic partners using both the MMPI-3 and the Eating Pathology Symptoms Inventory (EPSI). Participants were 53% men, 47% women, 76% employed, and 97% White. The EAT scale best reflected EPSI domains of binge eating, body dissatisfaction, purging, negative attitudes toward obesity, and restricting. Furthermore, the EAT scale uniquely predicted multiple EPSI scale scores above and beyond other conceptually relevant MMPI-3 scales. Analyses based on gender revealed notable group differences and changes in the strength of associations for EAT and specific EPSI domain scores. Our findings provide support for the incremental and convergent validity of the EAT scale with implications for the increasing use of the MMPI-3 in the U.S. Veterans Affairs health care systems. Overall, EAT appears to effectively identify problematic eating behaviors associated with the item content of the scale (binging, restricting, purging). However, identification of less stereotypic clinically relevant behaviors related to eating or body image (e.g., excessive exercise) may require additional targeted assessment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).