Extending the Turkish EDE-Q-13 to adolescents: a psychometric validation study

Eating disorders are increasingly prevalent during adolescence, a critical developmental stage, and there is a pressing need for concise, yet robust assessment tools tailored for this age group. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire-13 (EDE-Q-13) among healthy adolescents.

A total of 223 participants aged 10-17 years were recruited from Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Faculty of Medicine. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity were examined through Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega, Composite Reliability (CR), Average Variance Extracted (AVE), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and correlations with the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) and the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2).

The total scale showed high internal consistency (α = 0.86, ω = 0.85), with subscale reliabilities ranging from acceptable to good (α = 0.60-0.87). CFA supported the original five-factor structure, yielding satisfactory model fit indices (CMIN/df = 1.58, RMSEA = 0.05, CFI = 0.97, TLI = 0.97). Test-retest reliability over a 15-day interval demonstrated strong temporal stability (r = 0.82; ICC = 0.795-0.886). Significant positive correlations with EAT-26 and negative correlations with BAS-2 confirmed convergent and discriminant validity.

These findings indicate that the Turkish EDE-Q-13 is a valid, reliable, and efficient measure for assessing eating disorder psychopathology in healthy adolescents. Its brevity enhances practicality for both clinical and epidemiological research, though future validation in clinical populations is recommended.