CROSS-CULTURAL VALIDITY OF THE EATING DISORDER INVENTORY - A STUDY OFCHINESE PATIENTS WITH EATING DISORDERS IN HONG-KONG

Objective: To evaluate the cross-cultural validity of the Chinese vers ion of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) in a clinical sample of pat ients with eating disorders in Hong Kong Method: After comprehensive c linical assessment, a consecutive series (1990-1996) of Chinese patien ts with bulimia nervosa (N = 17) and broadly diagnosed anorexia nervos a (N = 26) completed the Chinese EDI. Results were compared with those of Chinese female undergraduates (N = 606) and Canadian patients with eating disorders. Results: The EDI profiles of bulimic and fat phobic anorectic patients were remarkably and modestly similar to those of t heir Canadian counterparts. The EDI meaningfully distinguished bulimic patients and fat phobic anorectic patients from local undergraduates, but exhibited deficient criterion-related validity in nonfat phobic a norectic patients. Discussion: The questionable validity of certain ED I subscales in nonfat phobic patients reflects the ethnospecific const ructs upon which they are based, and weakens the efficacy of the EDI i n screening for anorexia nervosa in Chinese populations. Apart from il lustrating some of the conceptual and methodological issues that need to be tackled in the cross-cultural study of the eating disorders, thi s study furnishes empirical support for the syndromal homogeneity of b ulimia nervosa, and the clinical grouping of anorexia nervosa into fat phobic and nonfat phobic subtypes. (C) 1998 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc .