DClinPsy Portfolio Volume 1 of 3 - University of Hertfordshire ...

The subscales; Low Self Esteem (LSE), Personal Alienation (PA), Interpersonal
Insecurity (II), Interpersonal Alienation (IA), Interoceptive Deficits (ID), Emotional Dysregulation
(ED), Perfectionism (P), Asceticism (A) and Maturity Fears (MF) are termed
psychological scales.
The 7 items on the DT scale assess for an extreme desire to be thinner, concern with
dieting, a preoccupation with weight and an intense fear of weight gain. This scale is
thought to be a good predictor of binge eating and of the development of formal eating
disorders in adolescents and adults. Girls with higher body weights have higher DT
scores. The B scale assesses the tendency to think about, and engage in bouts of
uncontrollable overeating. The presence of binge eating is one of the defining features of
bulimia. The BD scale assesses discontentment with the overall shape and size of regions
of the body that are of great concern to those who have eating disorders.
Eating Disorder Risk Composite
The subscales of Drive for Thinness (DT), Bulimia (B) and Body Dissatisfaction (BD)
together indicate eating disorder risk which is calculated using the Eating Disorder Risk
Composite Score (EDRC). This is calculated by summing the T scores for the Drive for
Thinness, Bulimia and Body Dissatisfaction scales. This was used, as is recommended, in
order to obtain one score reflecting the level of eating concerns. The total EDRC is
divided into the following three categories elevated clinical range, typical clinical range
and low clinical range. These were renamed low, moderate and high eating disorder risk
(EDR) groups for the purposes of this study. The elevated clinical range category is in the
99 th percentile for the adolescent non clinical U.S sample indicating extreme eating and
weight concerns that consist of fear of weight gain, desire to be thinner, binge eating
tendencies and body dissatisfaction. Thus it is suggested that a score in this range should
raise concerns about the presence of a clinical eating disorder or serious eating concerns
or symptoms. The typical clinical range score is between the 91 st and 98 th percentile for
the adolescent non clinical U.S sample and the low clinical range is less than the 90 th
percentile. Individuals from the latter group do not have significant problems with eating
and weight concerns such as those stated for the elevated clinical range group.
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