Associations between specific components of compulsive exercise and eating-disordered cognitions and behaviors among young women.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the associations between specific elements of compulsive exercise and both eating-disordered cognitions and eating-disordered behaviors in a nonclinical sample of young women. METHOD: A sample of young women (n = 498) completed self-report measures of eating pathology (The Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire) and a relatively new measure of Compulsive Exercise Test. RESULTS: Specific elements of compulsive exercise were associated with elevated levels of eating-disordered cognitions and increased frequency of eating-disordered behaviors. DISCUSSION: These results support a multifunctional conceptualization of compulsive exercise, suggesting that some of the functionality of compulsive exercise may be akin to other forms of purging, and further supporting the notion of a possible functional equivalence between compulsive exercise and specific eating-disordered behaviors in terms of affect regulation.

Compulsive exercise and eating disorders.

The aim of this review was to develop an empirically supported cognitive behavioural model of compulsive exercise within the context of the eating disorders. A systematic review of the correlates and predictors of compulsive exercise among eating disordered patients identified four key correlates. These were subsequently validated by a second review, incorporating both the clinical and non-clinical as well as the exercise science literatures. A proposed model is presented which is both evidence-based and testable.

Disordered eating and exercise: development and preliminary validation of the compulsive exercise test (CET).

OBJECTIVE: The Compulsive Exercise Test (CET) was developed to assess the primary factors operating in the maintenance of excessive exercise. METHODS: A total of 367 young female exercisers were recruited from University campuses. Across three separate studies, the participants completed either the CET alone, or the CET and other standard self-report measures of excessive exercise and eating psychopathology. RESULTS: Factor analyses yielded five factors from which a final 24-item, five subscale measure was constructed. The CET demonstrated high internal consistency across the three samples. Supporting the concurrent and convergent validity of the scale, the CET correlated in the expected direction with existing measures of excessive exercise and eating pathology. As expected, the CET explained greater variance in eating pathology than existing measures of excessive exercise. DISCUSSION: The resulting subscales of the CET are consistent with a cognitive-behavioural maintenance model of excessive exercise and support the multidimensionality of the excessive exercise construct. Further research is required to validate the instrument within a sample of eating disordered women.

Psychometric evaluation of the compulsive exercise test (CET) in an adolescent population: links with eating psychopathology.

OBJECTIVE: Compulsive exercise describes a rigid, driven urge to exercise that has been reported in different populations, including eating disorder patients. This compulsion can develop at an early age and yet the measurement of compulsive exercise in adolescents is limited by inappropriate assessment techniques. This study aimed to psychometrically evaluate the Compulsive Exercise Test (CET) in a sample of adolescents. METHODS: The sample consisted of 1012 adolescents aged 12-14 years old, who completed the CET, the Commitment to Exercise Scale (CES), and selected subscales from the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2). RESULTS: Results confirmed the original five-factor solution of the CET. The CET's concurrent validity with the CES, as well as the convergent validity with the EDI-2, was established. The CET was not strongly related to exercise frequency. CONCLUSION: The CET appears to be valid and reliable for use with adolescents. Replication with an adolescent clinical eating disorder sample is now required.

Framework for integrating indigenous and scientific knowledge for disaster risk reduction.

A growing awareness of the value of indigenous knowledge has prompted calls for its use within disaster risk reduction. The use of indigenous knowledge alongside scientific knowledge is increasingly advocated but there is as yet no clearly developed framework demonstrating how the two may be integrated to reduce community vulnerability to environmental hazards. This paper presents such a framework, using a participatory approach in which relevant indigenous and scientific knowledge may be integrated to reduce a community's vulnerability to environmental hazards. Focusing on small island developing states it presents an analysis of the need for such a framework alongside the difficulties of incorporating indigenous knowledge. This is followed by an explanation of the various processes within the framework, drawing on research completed in Papua New Guinea. This framework is an important first step in identifying how indigenous and scientific knowledge may be integrated to reduce community vulnerability to environmental hazards.

The Compulsive Exercise Test: confirmatory factor analysis and links with eating psychopathology among women with clinical eating disorders.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the Compulsive Exercise Test (CET) among an adult sample of patients with eating disorders. METHOD: Three hundred and fifty six patients and 360 non-clinical control women completed the CET and the Eating Disorders Examination questionnaire (EDE-Q). RESULTS: A confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the clinical data showed a moderate fit to the previously published five factor model derived from a community sample (Taranis L, Touyz S, Meyer C, Eur Eat Disord Rev 19:256-268, 2011). The clinical group scored significantly higher than the non-clinical group on four of the five CET subscales, and logistic regression analysis revealed that the CET could successfully discriminate between the two groups. A Receiver Operating Curve analysis revealed that a cut-off score of 15 on the CET resulted in acceptable values of both sensitivity and specificity. CONCLUSIONS: The CET appears to have a factor structure that is acceptable for use with an adult sample of patients with eating disorders. It can identify compulsive exercise among patients with eating disorders and a cut-off score of 15 is acceptable as indicating an appropriate cut-off point.