title: A novel assessment of behaviors associated with body dissatisfaction and disordered eating.
abstract: The purpose of the present study was to compare response rates to questions assessing behaviors associated with body dissatisfaction and disordered eating on a standard self-report questionnaire that was nominally anonymous to an unmatched count questionnaire that allowed for true response anonymity. Five hundred sixty-seven undergraduate students were asked about disordered eating and body image-related behaviors using one of two response formats; either a conventional true-false questionnaire or an unmatched count questionnaire that did not require participants to directly respond to any sensitive questions. Both men and women had significantly different rates of endorsement between the two methods of assessment on the majority of the questions, suggesting that degree of anonymity and format of response may affect endorsements of these potentially sensitive topics. These results contribute to the existing literature highlighting the necessity of understanding self-report bias in determining accurate rates of sensitive behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, 12222, USA. jl979833@albany.edu
authors.forename: Jason M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lavender
authors.forename: Drew A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015982:Bias; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012650:Self Disclosure; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult