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Objective: The current study compared the eating disorder and anxiety disorder literature in terms of research design and methodologic features in 1980, 1990, and 2000.Method: Computer literature searches were conducted using PubMed and PsychInfo databases to identify relevant eating disorder and anxiety disorder articles published at each of the three time points. A total of 456 articles were randomly selected, including 228 articles from the eating disorder literature and the anxiety disorder literature. Within each specific literature, one third (76) of the articles were selected from each of the three time points (1980, 1990, 2000). Two raters, from a team of eight trained raters, were randomly assigned to independently rate each article in terms of 75 separate methodologic features. Disagreements in ratings were resolved via consensus. Ratings were tabulated separately for eating disorders and anxiety disorders across the three time points.Results: Although there were some differences between anxiety disorders and eating disorders, most of the variables did not substantially differ between these two fields. There was a consistent trend for both fields to show increases in more rigorous methodologies over time. However, both the eating disorder literature and the anxiety disorder literature were characterized by a pervasive absence of many recommended methodologic procedures across the past two decades.Conclusion: Although the eating disorder literature and the anxiety disorder literature are increasingly characterized by improved reporting of rigorous methodologic procedures, there is still a pervasive absence of such procedures in both literatures, which limits the strength of inference in these studies. © 2005 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The current study compared the eating disorder literature and the anxiety disorder literature in terms of statistical hypothesis testing features in 1980, 1990, and 2000.Method: Computer literature searches were conducted using PubMed and PsychInfo databases to identify relevant eating disorder and anxiety disorder articles published at each of the three time points. A total of 456 articles were randomly selected, including 228 articles each from the fields of eating disorders and anxiety disorders. Within each field, one third (76) of the articles were selected from each of the three time points. Two raters, from a team of eight trained raters, were randomly assigned to independently rate each article in terms of 75 separate methodologic features. In the current article, we will emphasize the findings about hypothesis testing and statistical analysis. Disagreements in ratings were resolved via consensus. Ratings were tabulated separately by field across the three time points.Results: Few differences were observed between eating disorder and anxiety disorder publications in terms of statistical hypothesis testing features. Although increases were observed in both fields in a number of areas from 1980 to 2000, there remains a pervasive absence of many of the statistical hypothesis testing features recommended by the American Psychological Association Task Force on Statistical Inference.Conclusion: These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the fields of eating disorders and anxiety disorders, for researchers, for reviewers, and for professional journals and editorial boards. © 2005 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the properties of a Portuguese version of the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life-Lite (IWQOL-Lite) questionnaire and to compare quality of life scores between samples of Portuguese and American women.Research Methods and Procedures: IWQOL-Lite scores were obtained from 138 Portuguese participants who were enrolled in a 2-year lifestyle weight management programme ( Portuguese clinical sample ) and 250 Portuguese volunteers from the community ( Portuguese community sample ). Subjects were matched on gender (all female), BMI, age and treatment-seeking status to American individuals from the IWQOL normative database who completed the IWQOL-Lite in English. In addition, Portuguese community subjects completed the SF-36 and their scores were compared to American individuals' scores from the normative database. The psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the IWQOL-Lite were determined, and Portuguese and American samples were compared on quality of life.Results: The Portuguese and English versions of the IWQOL-Lite appeared psychometrically very comparable. The Portuguese IWQOL-Lite demonstrated excellent psychometric properties (internal consistency, correlations with BMI, factor structure, correlation with SF-36, discriminant validity). Comparison of Portuguese and American subjects suggested that increasing BMI may have a more adverse effect on quality of life in Portuguese individuals as compared to Americans.Discussion: The results suggest that the Portuguese translation of the IWQOL-Lite is a reliable and valid measure of obesity-specific quality of life. Obesity may have a greater impact on quality of life in Portuguese women compared to American women. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper overviews the issue of validity testing for eating disorder diagnoses. Method: A variety of different approaches to validity testing are reviewed, with an emphasis on clinically oriented validity testing for the DSM-V. Results: Validators of eating disorder diagnoses are likely to vary in terms of their scientific and clinical utility. Given that the DSM-V is a clinical document, validators which provide predictive clinical information will be most useful. Conclusion: Clinicians and researchers alike may differ in their approach to validating eating disorder diagnoses depending on the purpose of the validation. © 2007 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]