Validity of the Arabic Version of the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI)

Background: We aimed to validate the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI) in Arabic.

Methods: Subjects were chosen randomly from female school students. Only healthy Saudi students were included. They were asked to fill the EDI and undergo a semi-structured interview by a psychiatrist who was unaware of the EDI scores. Of 146 students approached 12 did not meet our criteria and were excluded; 16 other students were excluded for incomplete responses.

Results: The difference between the two diagnostic methods in the proportion of caseness was statistically significantly (P < 0.0001). The scores on Perfectionism, Maturity Fears and Interoceptive Awareness were significantly higher in the Saudi students compared with Canadians (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: The EDI-DT subscale has a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 85%. Despite its low positive predictive value of 5%, it may be useful for screening large non-clinical groups for eating disorders.