Belief and Behavior Aspects of the EAT-26: The Case of Schoolgirls in Belize

Abstract

This study investigates components of eating attitudes in a sample of Belizean schoolgirls and argues for separate analysis of eating beliefs and eating behaviors using the EAT-26 in populations undergoing rapid cultural change. The EAT-26 was utilized in a novel manner, preserving the ethnographic and empirical distinction between belief and behavior components of eating attitudes. Participants included a sample of secondary schoolgirls (n = 80) undergoing acculturative stress. Participants reported more disordered eating beliefs than behaviors. Respondents having higher belief scores than behavior scores were more likely to prefer thinner body build and to be concerned about boys’ assessments of their bodies. Girls with higher behavior scores were less likely to report eating when hungry and stopping when full. In conclusion, discriminant validity was found between attitudinal and behavioral aspects of the EAT-26 as evidenced by face validity and patterns in predicting body image preference and desired weight change. Such a distinction has implications for assessing risk for disordered eating among populations undergoing acculturative stress. Among such populations, while behavioral symptoms might be absent or present in subclinical levels, disordered beliefs associated with psychological distress or potential precursors to eating-disordered behavior might be detected and should be investigated further.

Appendix: EAT Belief–Behavior Classification Schedule with Pilot Responses

Below are (1) definitions from social psychology of beliefs and behaviors and (2) slightly modified questions from the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT; Garner et al. 1982). Please categorize each question as to whether it is a belief or a behavior. Thank you very much!

Belief—A cognitive (i.e., thought, mental) or affective (i.e., feeling, emotional) state.

Behavior—An action or intention to act.

Belief = 0

Behavior = 1

8 rater scores (dissent in boldface):

00000000___	1.	I am terrified of being overweight or fat.
11111111___	2.	I avoid eating when I am hungry.
00000000___	3.	I find myself preoccupied with food or thinking about food a lot.
11111111___	4.	I have gone on eating binges where I feel I may not be able to stop.
11111111___	5.	I cut my food into small pieces.
00000000___	6.	I am aware of the calorie or fat content of the foods that I eat.
11111111___	7.	I particularly avoid food with a high carbohydrate content (bread, potatoes, rice, corn).
00000000___	8.	I feel that others would prefer if I ate more.
11111111___	9.	I throw up after I have eaten.
00000000___	10.	I feel extremely guilty after eating.
00000000___	11.	I am preoccupied with a desire to be thin.
00000000___	12.	I think about burning my calories or fat when I exercise.
00000000___	13.	Other people think I am too thin.
00000000___	14.	I am preoccupied with the thought of having fat on my body.
11111111___	15.	I take longer than others to eat my meals.
11111111___	16.	I avoid foods with sugar in them.
11111111___	17.	I eat diet foods.
00000000___	18.	I feel that food controls my life.
10111011___	19.	I display self-control around food.
00000000___	20.	I feel others pressure me to eat.
00000000___	21.	I give too much time and thought to food or my body shape.
00000000___	22.	I feel comfortable after eating sweets.
11111111___	23.	I engage in dieting behavior.
10100000___	24.	I like to empty my stomach.
00000000___	25.	I enjoy trying new rich foods.
00010101___	26.	I have the impulse to vomit after meals.