Does repeated testing improve the validity of self-reported emotional eating through a process of meaning making?

Abstract

In two experimental studies in women, we investigated whether repeated testing improved the predictive validity of self-reported emotional eating (EE) for distress-induced food intake. We also tested whether there is support for a process of meaning making where pre-test and re-test EE are indirectly related through a serial causal chain of alexithymia and poor introspective awareness (IA). In study 1 (n=80), self-reported alexithymia and IA were measured before retesting EE. In study 2 (n=128), alexithymia and IA were measured after re-testing EE. In support of a process of meaning making, in both studies there was a significant serial chain of pre-test EE to re-test EE through alexithymia and IA. Further, re-test EE predicted somewhat more variance in distress-induced food intake than pre-test EE, though the difference was not significant. In conclusion, repeated testing may help respondents get a better understanding of a measure, thereby improving the validity of that measure.