What makes dietary restraint problematic? Development and validation of the Inflexible Eating Questionnaire

Abstract

This study presents the Inflexible Eating Questionnaire (IEQ), which measures the inflexible adherence to subjective eating rules. The scale's structure and psychometric properties were examined in distinct samples from the general population comprising both men and women. IEQ presented an 11-item one-dimensional structure, revealed high internal consistency, construct and temporal stability, and discriminated eating psychopathology cases from non-cases. The IEQ presented significant associations with dietary restraint, eating psychopathology, body image inflexibility, general psychopathology symptoms, and decreased intuitive eating. IEQ was a significant moderator on the association between dietary restraint and eating psychopathology symptoms. Findings suggested that the IEQ is a valid and useful instrument with potential implications for research on psychological inflexibility in disordered eating.