OBJECTIVE:

The current study compared the Eating Disorders Examination (EDE) and the Eating Disorders Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) in adolescents with eating disorders.

METHOD:

Adolescents (N = 70) with bulimia nervosa (BN; n = 21), partial-syndrome BN (PBN; n = 25), and anorexia nervosa (AN; n = 24) were assessed with the EDE and EDE-Q.

RESULTS:

Moderate to high correlations were found on all four subscales within and between diagnostic groups. The discrepancy between the EDE and EDE-Q was significantly greater in BN relative to PBN and AN for the Eating Concern subscale. Objective binge episode (OBE) frequency in BN and subjective binge episode (SBE) frequency in BN and PBN were higher with the EDE compared with the EDE-Q. Self-induced vomiting was highly correlated between the two measures.

DISCUSSION:

Adolescents with BN, PBN, and AN exhibited strong correspondence between the EDE interview and questionnaire formats. However, this consistency was not as pronounced for BN as it was for PBN and AN. The current study lends preliminary credibility to the use of the EDE-Q in adolescent eating disorder samples.

2004 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.