[Reliability of the Greek version of the eating disorder examination questionnaire (EDE-Q) in a sample of adolescent students].

The increasing prevalence of Eating Disorders over the last decades generates a growing interest of researchers and health care providers for their early detection through suitable questionnaires. The aim of the present study is to examine the reliability of the Greek version of EDE-Q 6.0 among secondary school adolescents. EDE-Q is a widely used self-report questionnaire that assesses the specific psychopathology of eating disorders. Its 6.0th version consists of 28 items. It yields two types of data: (a) four subscale scores (Restraint, Eating Concern, Shape Concern and Weight Concern) as well as a global score which is the average of the four subscale scores and (b) frequency data on key eating and compensatory behaviors (e.g. binge eating episodes, self-induced vomiting, excessive exercise). The sample comprises 257 secondary school students (133 girls and 124 boys) residents of north Evros-Greece, aged 16.1±1.4 years. The students completed the EDE-Q twice within a median interval of 34 days. In addition, their demographic data were collected and their weight and height were measured. The reliability of the EDE-Q was assessed by means of: (a) its internal consistency which was tested by Cronbach's alpha coefficient for each of the EDE-Q subscales as well as for the global score at both data collection times and (b) its test-retest reliability which was estimated by calculating: (1) intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and Pearson's correlation coefficients (PCCs) for continuous variables (subscales and global score) and (2) Kendal's tau b coefficients for categorical variables (frequency of behavioral features). Cronbach's alphas indicating internal consistency of EDE-Q ranged from 0.71 to 0.91. ICCs and PCCs indicating the test-retest reliability of each subscale and the global score of the questionnaire ranged from 0.55 to 0.70 and from 0.58 to 0.73 respectively. Kendal tau b coefficients indicating the test-retest reliability of items assessing behavioral features ranged from 0.22 to 0.57. All the above correlations that concern the test-retest reliability of the EDE-Q were statistically significant at the 0.001 level. The Greek version of EDE-Q 6.0, standardized in a sample of secondary school students, presents adequate test-retest reliability and internal consistency as well.