The Development of Carbohydrate-Preference Rating Scale and Its Relation to the Eating Attitude Test / 신경정신의학

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to develop a carbohydrate-preference rating scale (CPRS) and to investigate its validity and reliability. METHODS: A 10-item questionnaire was developed or selected by three psychiatrists. The questionnaire was administered to 157 female college students in Seoul. Construct validity was investigated by performing a principal component analysis, and reliability was assessed in terms of internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: The principal component analysis revealed three factors underlying carbohydrate prefer-ences habits of carbohydrate consumption, ability to control the consumption of carbohydrates and body weight, and the addition of sugar when drinking coffee. Taken together, these three factors accounted for 57.390% of the common variance. Cronbach's alpha was high, indicating the reliability of the questionnaire was satisfactory. When comparing the total score of the questionnaire by T test, the eating disorder group showed higher score than the control group. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that the CPRS is a reliable and valid scale for assessing carbo-hydrate preferences. Although there are a lot of limitations, present study has significance as the basis of future research.