An interpersonal circumplex/five-factor model analysis of the Eating Disorders Inventory-3

Abstract

A combined interpersonal circumplex/five-factor model approach was used to investigate personality correlates of Eating Disorders Inventory-3 (EDI-3; Garner, 2004) scales for a non-clinical sample of 234 college women. EDI-3 non-symptom scales and composites had appreciable loadings in the two-dimensional interpersonal circumplex space, with angular locations ranging mainly from Cold (180°) to Submissive (270°). In the five-factor analyses, Neuroticism made significant positive contributions to all of the EDI-3 scales and composites; Conscientiousness made contributions (all negative, save one) to 11 of the 18 scales. The results affirm the centrality of negative affect (i.e., Neuroticism) in disordered eating, but highlight also the importance of assessing interpersonal deficits, which in previous studies have been associated both with the etiology of eating-related problems and increased risk of dropout from treatment. Finally, collapsing or "weighting" EDI-3 item scores may compromise unnecessarily the psychometric properties of the scales' particularly in non-clinical populations--and we recommend derivation of additional EDI-3 norms, based on unweighted item scores.