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

The MF scale consists of eight items that assess the desire to retreat to the security of
childhood. This construct has been described as central in maintaining some adolescents
dieting and weight loss because it provides a means to return to pre-pubertal appearance
and hormonal status.
Reliability:
The average item total correlation of the eight subscales of the Eating Disorder
Inventory-3 was .63 (SD = .13). Reliability information was based on 271 college women
in the U.S.A on whom completed information on all subscales was obtained. Reliability
coefficients (standardized Cronbach's alphas) for the Anorexia Nervosa (AN) group
ranged from .83 (Interoceptive Awareness) to .93 (Ineffectiveness). Reliability
coefficients for the female college students ranged from .72 (Maturity Fears) to .92 (Body
Dissatisfaction).
Validity:
Criterion-related validity studies were performed by comparing the EDI-3 patient profiles
with the judgments of clinicians familiar with the patient's psychological presentation. A
subgroup of 49 of the AN patients who had completed the EDI-3 was assigned two raters:
a psychologist and psychiatrist who were familiar with the patients, being their primary
therapist or consultant. The raters were provided with the description of the subscale
content and with the patients' total score percentile rank within the entire AN sample. All
inter-rater correlations were significant at the p < .001 level and ranged from .43
(Maturity Fears) to .68 (Ineffectiveness).
Norms:
Two groups of respondents participated in the validation of the EDI-3. The criterion
group (n = 129) was composed of three sub-samples of women. These women averaged
20% below the expected weight for their height and age. In this sample, 56 were
classified as "restrictors" and 73 were diagnosed as "bulimic."
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