Psychometric Properties and Factor Structure of the Polish ChEDE-Q in a Community Sample of Adolescents: Associations...

The Child and Adolescent Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (ChEDE-Q) is a widely used self-report screening instrument for assessing eating disorder psychopathology in young people. Evidence on the psychometric properties of the Polish-language version remains limited. This pilot study evaluated the internal consistency, dimensional structure, and BMI-related convergent validity of the Polish ChE-DE-Q in a regional youth sample.

A cross-sectional design was used, including 200 participants aged 10-18 years. Item characteristics and data quality were examined. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega. Dimensional structure was evaluated with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) based on a polychoric correlation matrix and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) comparing one-factor, four-factor, and bifactor models. Convergent validity was examined using Spearman's rank correlations with BMI and linear regression analyses with BMI z-scores.

The global score showed high internal consistency (α = 0.898; ω = 0.900). Subscale reliability ranged from acceptable to high. EFA supported a multidimensional solution. In CFA, the bifactor model showed the best fit among the tested alternatives (CFI = 0.742; TLI = 0.681; RMSEA = 0.122; SRMR = 0.084), but none of the tested models achieved fully satisfactory absolute fit. The global score correlated positively with BMI (rho = 0.282; p < 0.001) and was significantly associated with BMI z-score in regression analysis (B = 0.334; p < 0.001).

The Polish ChEDE-Q global score demonstrated strong internal consistency and preliminary BMI-related convergent validity. The findings provide initial support for a general factor and for using the global score in screening-oriented research; however, the pilot character of the study and the suboptimal absolute fit indices indicate that further validation in larger and more heterogeneous samples is required.