Psychology ETDs

Kelsey Serier

Publication Date

8-25-2016

Abstract

Objective: Rates of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders have increased in racial and ethnic minority groups, and yet the validity of various commonly-used eating disorder instruments has not been established in these populations. The primary goal of this study was to test the measurement invariance of one such measure, the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q), across a non-clinical sample of non-Hispanic white and Hispanic undergraduate women. Secondary goals of this study were to determine the factor structure of the EDE-Q in this sample, provide information on EDE-Q norms in a non-clinical sample of Hispanic undergraduate women, and examine the effect of acculturation on EDE-Q scores. Method: As part of a larger body image and eating disorder study, female undergraduates were recruited from a large university in the Southwestern United States. The current study focused on a single measure of eating disorder psychopathology, the EDE-Q, and a measure of ethnic identification, the Orthogonal Cultural Identification Scale (OCIS). Factor analysis and measurement invariance of the EDE-Q were tested in non-Hispanic white and Hispanic samples. Results: Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) indicated that only one of the six previously reported EDE-Q factor structures, a modified 7-item 3 factor structure of the EDE-Q previously reported by Grilo et al. (2013; 2015), was an acceptable fit of the data in both non-Hispanic white and Hispanic women. Tests of measurement invariance showed that there was configural invariance of the EDE-Q across non-Hispanic white and Hispanic women, indicating that the factor structure was the same across groups. Yet, a test of metric invariance indicated that the factor loadings were not the same across groups. Results from Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) suggested that levels of acculturation to Anglo/White culture was a significant predictor of EDE-Q scores above and beyond ethnic identity, such that greater orientation to Anglo/White culture was associated with higher dietary restraint and lower body dissatisfaction. Discussion: A modified 3 factor structure of the EDE-Q was an acceptable fit in both non-clinical samples of non-Hispanic white and Hispanic undergraduate women. However, tests of measurement invariance indicated that the EDE-Q performed differently across non-Hispanic white and Hispanic women. Thus, researchers should be careful when using the EDE-Q to make comparisons across these groups. Additionally, there needs to be further empirical testing of the factor structure of the EDE-Q given that five other previously reported EDE-Q factor structures failed to fit the data from this sample. Level of acculturation may be an important predictor of body dissatisfaction and ED symptomatology in ethnically diverse women and an area for future research.

Degree Name

Psychology

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Psychology

First Committee Member (Chair)

Yeater, Elizabeth

Second Committee Member

Verney, Steven

Language

English

Keywords

EDE-Q, Hispanic, Factor structure, Measurement invariance, Nonclinical

Document Type

Thesis

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