German version of the Restraint Scale for the assessment of restrained eating

The construct of dietary restraint refers to a restrictive eating style with the intention to achieve or maintain a desired weight. Restrained eating is supposed to play a crucial role in the development and maintenance of eating disorders and obesity. The Restraint Scale (RS, Herman T Polivy, 1980) is one of the most widely used measures for the assessment of dietary restraint. However, a German version of the RS had not been provided so far. Therefore, the current study aimed at investigating the reliability and validity of the German adaptation of the RS. The sample consisted of N = 349 university students. Our results confirm a correlated two-factorial solution of the RS. The internal consistency of the complete scale is Cronbach's alpha =.83. Gender differences as well as differences between restrained and unrestrained eaters in BMI and eating attitudes, respectively, confirm the scale's criterion validity. Finally, associations between restrained eating and measures of eating attitudes (EDI) as well as psychological distress (ADS, BAI, SCL-K-9) provide empirical evidence for the construct validity of the German version of the RS.