Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire EDE-Q 6.0
Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire EDE-Q 6.0 overview
Creator and Context
The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q 6.0) is a 28 item self report measure of eating disorder psychopathology, adapted from the EDE interview.
It was developed by Christopher Fairburn and Sarah Beglin, with version 6.0 published in 2008. It is the most widely used self report measure in eating disorder services. It is under copyright and is free for non commercial clinical and research use, including digital use, through CREDO at Oxford.
Presenting Conditions
The EDE-Q produces four subscales:
Restraint
Eating Concern
Shape Concern
Weight Concern
Six further items record the frequency of key eating disorder behaviours over the past 28 days, including objective and subjective binge episodes, self induced vomiting, laxative misuse and driven exercise. These behavioural items are not included in the subscale scores.
Administration
Self administered. Attitudinal items are rated on a 7 point scale from 0 to 6 for the past 28 days. Behavioural items are recorded as frequency counts for the same period.
Desired Audience
Adults and adolescents. Fairburn's guidance recommends the main EDE-Q for people over 14, with adapted versions for younger adolescents.
The EDE-Q is the standard measure in eating disorder services because it does two jobs at once: it quantifies the attitudinal core of the illness and it counts the behaviours. The behaviour counts are often the clinically decisive part, and they are the part that a total score alone would hide.
Considerations
Not a diagnostic instrument. The EDE interview remains the reference standard.
Self report over estimates binge frequency relative to the EDE interview.
CREDO publishes norms rather than severity bands. There is no official mild, moderate and severe banding, and the commonly quoted threshold of 4 is a convention rather than an author endorsed cut off.
Norms are predominantly derived from young adult female samples.
Free use is limited to non commercial clinical and research use. Embedding the measure in a commercial or chargeable product falls outside that grant and requires a licence from CREDO.
How to score the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire EDE-Q 6.0
Conducting the assessment
The person rates the attitudinal items on the 0 to 6 scale and records behaviour frequencies for the past 28 days.
Interpretation
Each subscale is the mean of its items, from 0 to 6. The global score is the mean of the four subscale scores, also 0 to 6. Higher scores indicate greater severity.
Mond et al. (2004) found that a global score of 2.3 or above, taken together with the presence of objective binge episodes or exercise used for weight control, gave the best screening performance in community women, with sensitivity of 0.83 and specificity of 0.96.
Read the behavioural frequencies alongside the scores. They are not part of the subscale calculation.
Clinical Considerations
Never read the global score without the behaviour counts. A person with a modest global score and daily purging is not a mild presentation.
Pair the EDE-Q with the CIA to capture the impairment the illness is causing.
Use the subscale profile to shape the formulation. Shape and weight concern driving restraint is a different clinical picture from binge eating driven by dietary restriction alone.
Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire EDE-Q 6.0 use cases
Assessing eating disorder psychopathology at intake and review
Recording the frequency of binge eating and compensatory behaviours
Screening in community and primary care settings
Outcome monitoring across a course of treatment
Category
Eating Disorder
Research Summary
Fairburn, C. G., & Beglin, S. J. (2008). Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (6.0). In C. G. Fairburn, Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Eating Disorders. New York: Guilford Press.
Fairburn, C. G., & Beglin, S. J. (1994). Assessment of eating disorder psychopathology: Interview or self report questionnaire? International Journal of Eating Disorders, 16, 363 to 370.
Mond, J. M., Hay, P. J., Rodgers, B., & Owen, C. (2004). Validity of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) in screening for eating disorders in community samples. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42(5), 551 to 567.
Other Assessment Guides
Binge Eating Scale BES
Discover the Binge Eating Scale (BES): a comprehensive guide to its application, administration, scoring, and interpretation in identifying and assessing binge eating behaviors in clinical and research environments.
Eating Attitudes Test EAT-26
Learn about the Eating Attitudes Test - 26 Item (EAT-26), a key screening tool for identifying potential eating disorders. Our comprehensive guide covers its use, scoring, and interpretation, essential for professionals in clinical and educational settings
Clinical Impairment Assessment CIA 3.0
A guide to the CIA 3.0, the 16 item measure of psychosocial impairment caused by eating disorder features. Covers scoring, the caseness threshold of 16 and why it must be paired with the EDE-Q.
Note on Assessment licensing
Some assessments are copyright protected and require a licence or the copyright holder's permission for clinical, commercial or digital use. Where that applies, obtaining and maintaining that permission is the responsibility of the practice or organisation using the assessment. Tacklit provides the digital administration, scoring and reporting. We do not grant, transfer or supply rights to the underlying instrument.
