Psychometric properties of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and norms for rural and urban adolescent males and females in Mexico

Aims: To contribute new evidence to the controversy about the factor structure of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and to provide, for the first time, norms based on a large adolescent Mexican community sample, regarding sex and area of residence (urban/rural). Methods: A total of 2928 schoolchildren (1544 females and 1384 males) aged 11-18 were assessed with the EDE-Q and other disordered eating questionnaire measures. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis of the attitudinal items of the EDE-Q did not support the four theorized subscales, and a two-factor solution, Restraint and Eating-Shape-Weight concern, showed better fit than the other models examined (RMSEA = .054); measurement invariance for this two-factor model across sex and area of residence was found. Satisfactory internal consistency (ω ≥ .80) and two-week test-retest reliability (ICCa ≥ .84; κ ≥ .56), and evidence for convergent validity with external measures was obtained. The highest attitudinal EDE-Q scores were found for urban females and the lowest scores were found for rural males, whereas the occurrence of key eating disorder behavioural features and compensatory behaviours was similar in both areas of residence. Conclusions: This study reveals satisfactory psychometric properties and provides population norms of the EDE-Q, which may help clinicians and researchers to interpret the EDE-Q scores of adolescents from urban and rural areas in Mexico.