Validation of a measure of hypervigilance and anxiety about gastrointestinal symptoms for individuals with elevated eating pathology.

Abstract

Gastrointestinal symptoms are common within eating disorders and gastrointestinal-specific anxiety is a posited maintenance factor. The present study sought to validate a modified version of an existing measure of gastrointestinal-specific anxiety and hypervigilance in a sample with elevated eating pathology. Esophageal-specific terms in the Esophageal Hypervigilance and Anxiety Scale were modified to measure any gastrointestinal symptoms as a general measure of gastrointestinal-specific anxiety and hypervigilance. Three hundred eighty-two undergraduate students (83.5% female, 87.4% White) with elevated eating pathology completed a questionnaire battery that also measured gastrointestinal symptoms, general anxiety sensitivity, and lower gastrointestinal-specific anxiety on two occasions. Analyses were preregistered at Open Science Framework. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a two-factor solution (anxiety and hypervigilance) fit the data best. Internal consistency and 2-week test-retest reliability were good for subscale scores. Subscale scores exhibited large associations with a measure of lower gastrointestinalspecific anxiety but did not exhibit the hypothesized relationships with general anxiety sensitivity. Subscale scores were at least moderately correlated with measures of gastrointestinal symptoms and somatic symptom severity, with some exceptions (hypervigilance with nausea/vomiting, postprandial fullness/early satiety, bloating). Subscale scores exhibited negligible associations with discriminant validity measures. Results suggest that gastrointestinal-specific anxiety and hypervigilance are separable in samples with elevated eating pathology. The Anxiety and Hypervigilance subscale scores showed good reliability in a sample with elevated eating pathology. Correlations with measures of gastrointestinal symptoms and gastrointestinal-specific anxiety generally demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity. We recommend researchers use subscale scores, rather than total score, in future research on gastrointestinal symptoms associated with eating pathology.

Examining the placement of atypical anorexia nervosa in the eating disorder diagnostic hierarchy relative to bulimia nervosa and binge‐eating disorder

“…Data in the present study were pooled from five archival data sets from a university in the Appalachian region of the United States (Forney, Burton Murray, et al, 2023;Forney, Horvath, et al, 2023;Harris, 2023), a university in the southern United States (Forney, Burton Murray, et al, 2023), and a university in Ontario, Canada (Biderman et al, 2023). The final pooled sample comprised 650 participants who met the criteria for an eating disorder (see "Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale" under Measures) and passed sufficient effort responding criteria (Curran, 2016;Huang et al, 2015) or other specified attention checks.…”

“…McDonald's omega suggested acceptable reliability (Physical ω = .76, Psychological ω = .79, and Social ω = .76). These variables were present for 305 (Social Quality of Life) to 306 (Physical and Psychological Quality of Life) participants (Forney, Burton Murray, et al, 2023;Forney, Horvath, et al, 2023;Harris, 2023).…”