Psychometric properties of the dutch eating behaviour questionnaire (DEBQ) among 9–10-year-old Swedish girls

This study was designed to examine the psychometric properties of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) (van Strien et al., 1986) in a sample of 9–10-year-old Swedish girls (N=117). The Children's Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT) was used for validation. There were significant differences between ‘Dieters’ and ‘Non-Dieters’ for DEBQ and ChEAT totals, for the DEBQ ‘Restrained Eating’ scale, and for the ChEAT ‘Dieting’ and ‘Bulimia’ scales, indicating that both instruments possess adequate construct validity for this group. The DEBQ total correlated (0·45) with the ChEAT total, and the DEBQ ‘Restrained Eating’ (0·75) with the ChEAT ‘Dieting’. ‘Emotional Eating’ (DEBQ) did not correlate with the ChEAT total or ‘Dieting’ but there were significant correlations with ‘Oral Control’ and ‘Bulimia’. DEBQ ‘External Eating’ showed a corresponding relationship only with ‘Oral Control’. Factorial analysis demonstrated that all DEBQ items except one for the ‘Restrained Eating’ and ‘External Eating’ subscales, and two items of the ‘Emotional Eating’ scale loaded on three separate factors, suggesting factorial integrity. Computation of internal consistency showed an alpha coefficient of 0·83 for DEBQ total, and subscale alpha values ranging from 0·77 to 0·86. This pattern of results indicates adequate psychometric properties among 9–10-year-old girls.