A Readiness Ruler for Assessing Motivation to Change in People with Eating Disorders.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the psychometric properties of the Eating Disorder Readiness Ruler a simple self-report instrument designed to enable rapid assessment of readiness to change problematic eating behaviours in people with clinical eating disorders.

METHOD: We administered the ED-RR, the Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire and a measure of autonomous and controlled motivation for change to 206 individuals receiving outpatient treatment for an eating disorder.

RESULTS: A principal axis factoring analysis of the ED-RR yielded a significant two-factor solution (explaining 59% of variance)-one factor pertaining to restriction and body image preoccupation (four items), the other to binge-eating and vomiting symptoms (two items). The ED-RR showed good internal consistency (alpha coefficients for the two factors being .77 and .84 respectively). Furthermore, individuals reporting higher readiness showed higher scores on independent measures of autonomous motivation and greater symptom reductions over time.

DISCUSSION: Results suggest that the ED-RR is a psychometrically sound tool with potential clinical utility. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.