Using item response theory in the development and validation of the College-Oriented Eating Disorders Screen

The current study examined the psychometric characteristics of the College-Oriented Eating Disorders Screen (COEDS), a college-student-focused screening measure to assess and identify individuals at-risk for the development of eating disordered pathology. By screening a large pool of pilot questions and using methods based in item response theory (IRT), seven items were identified with well-targeted contents that discriminated well across the continuum of eating disorder severity. The resulting measure evidenced a unidimensional factor structure and correlated highly with the original COEDS, standard measures of eating disorders pathology, and a measure of associated symptomatology (e.g., depressive symptoms). Based on these results, we discuss the utility of the COEDS as a prognostic indicator for risk of eating disordered pathology among college students.