Comparing two measures of eating restraint in bulimic women treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy.
OBJECTIVE
To examine changes in dietary restraint patterns revealed by the Eating Disorders Examination Restraint subscale (EDE-R) and the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire Cognitive Restraint scale (TFEQ-CR) in a large sample of women with bulimia nervosa (BN) who completed 18 weeks of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).


METHODS
Data from 134 subjects were obtained from a larger study and analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA).


RESULTS
The EDE-R showed statistically and clinically significant decreases post-CBT, whereas the TFEQ-CR did not change significantly.


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first study to directly compare the EDE-R and TFEQ-CR before and after CBT in the same population. The contrasting results suggest the two measures tap different aspects of the dietary restraint construct. The EDE-R may primarily reflect dieting to lose weight whereas the TFEQ-CR may reflect dieting to avoid weight gain. In assessing changes in dietary restraint targeted by CBT for BN, the TFEQ-CR appears less useful.
Safer
Debra L
DL
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305-5722, USA. dlsafer@stanford.edu
Agras
W Stewart
WS
Lowe
Michael R
MR
Bryson
Susan
S
D000328:Adult; D002032:Bulimia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires