Assessing negative core beliefs in eating disorders: revision of the Eating Disorder Core Beliefs Questionnaire

In this study, we evaluated and revised the Eating Disorder Core Beliefs Questionnaire (ED-CBQ); a measure designed to assess five areas of core beliefs hypothesised to be relevant to the development and maintenance of a variety of eating disorder presentations. The present study aimed to evaluate the ED-CBQ and to develop a revised and improved version of the original measure after evaluating its factor structure and related properties. We did not find support for the original ED-CBQ, and as such, a revised version was developed that possessed equal or superior properties to the original 40-item measure. The ED-CBQ-R was able to differentiate between eating disorder symptomatic and non-eating disorder groups, and importantly, was a valid, reliable and efficient tool for future clinicians and researchers. This new tool may prove useful in future research when considering the core cognitive features underlying a variety of disordered eating and feeding presentations.