Validity of the Arabic version of the eating attitude test

✍ Scribed by Al-Subaie, Abdullah ;Al-Shammari, Sulaiman ;Bamgboye, Elijah ;Al-Sabhan, Khalid ;Al-Shehri, Sulaiman ;Bannah, Azzah Ramadan

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 262 KB
• Volume: 20
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0276-3478
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199611)20:3<321::aid-eat12>3.0.co;2-2

✦ Synopsis

Objectives: To assess the validity of the Eating Attitude Test in Arabic as a screening instrument in nonclinical populations. Methods: A representative sample of Grade 7-7 2 female students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was selected randomly but proportional to various social classes. The girls were independently assessed by the EAT-26 and a structured clinical interview. Results: One hundred twenty-nine subjects were included. Twenty-five were identified by EAT-26 as having abnormal eating attitudes. One case was identified as anorexia nervosa by the interview and no cases of bulimia were found. Discussion: EAT-26 was found to be highly sensitive and reasonably specific. Like some other studies in non-Western populations, it yielded a high false positive rate and a low positive predictive value. Because of its low cost and practicality, EAT-26 might be a useful tool in screening large populations for eating disorders.