Eating disorders examination: A German version of the structured eating disorder interviews

The Eating Disorder Examination (EDE; Fairbum & Cooper, 1993) is a semi-structured interview for the assessment of the specific psychopathology of eating disorders in clinical research and practice. Being widely considered as the method of choice for diagnosis of eating disorder psychopathology, the purpose of this study was to provide a German version of the EDE. In samples of 80 patients with bulimia nervosa, 144 patients with binge-eating disorder, and 20 patients with anorexia nervosa, the interrater reliability of items and scales was high. The EDE scales measuring weight and shape concern were strongly correlated with self-report scales on body image, for example, with the German version of the Body Shape Questionnaire. The EDE measures of restraint and eating concern were significantly associated with eating behavior as recorded in eating diaries, e.g., macronutrient intake, frequencies of meals or episodes of binge eating. The EDE subscales discriminated between diagnostic groups and were sensitive to change. Results corresponded to those reported for the English version. In sum, the German version of the EDE is eligible for assessment of specific psychopathological features of eating disorders.