Evaluating gender bias in an eating disorder risk assessment questionnaire for athletes

Due to stigma, eating disorders are under-researched, underdiagnosed and undertreated among men. This is particularly pertinent among athletes, as athletic goals are a major risk factor for disordered eating in men. This gender stereotype may be reinforced by eating disorder risk assessment tools that better reflect female symptoms. We examine an eating disorder risk assessment questionnaire in a population of athletes to assess both (1) gender bias in individual items and (2) gender differences on a cognitive and behavioral subscale, identified through a factor analysis. Controlling for eating disorder risk, we found that female gender significantly predicted high risk scores on four items; male gender significantly predicted high risk scores on four other items. We also found that women were more likely to score above the median on a cognitive subscale than men with the same level of eating disorder risk, while men were more likely to score above the median on a behavioral subscale. These results may be applied practically to allow eating disorder risk assessment tools to better capture eating disorder risk independent of gender. These methods may be applied to other questionnaires and other social identities, to expand the scope of eating disorder research and treatment.