Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a Scale for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
About this study
Starts
17 December 2025
Ends
31 December 2026
Participants
We aim to test our survey in community sample of individuals with eating disorders. Of these individuals, we plan to recruit both those with and without self-reported diagnoses of ARFID. A diverse sample with a broad spectrum of symptoms and experiences is desirable for this research.
You're invited to take part in this study if you have an eating disorder - regardless of type - and are an adult aged 18 years or older living in Australia.
What is Involved
Participation in this study involves filling out a brief online questionnaire, where we will ask you for some demographical information and to answer some questions about eating disorders. If you are currently feeling vulnerable, please consider whether now is the right time for you to participate.
This questionnaire is anticipated to take you between 20-30 minutes to complete and will take place entirely online. Participation is entirely voluntary and can skip any question or stop at any time. There will be no cost to you for taking part. Eligible participants will also go into the draw to win one of forty gift vouchers.
To learn more about the study, read the information sheet, and to participate please click here or copy and paste the link below into your browser:
https://curtin.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bDfo2htZJgAJdAi
If you know anyone else that might be eligible to participate in this research, please feel free to forward this message through to them. If you have any questions about the research, please reach out: thomas.mcalpine@curtin.edu.au
Location
Online, can be done anywhere in Australia
Funding Source
enAble Institute seed grant, Curtin University
Ethics Approval Number
HRE2025-0478
Author Information
Research Team
Dr Thomas McAlpine (Curtin University), Amanda Aiyana (Lived Experience researcher), Dr Olivia Carter (CCI), Melanie Coleman (CCI), David Erceg-Hurn (CCI), Professor Peter McEvoy (Curtin, CCI), Dr Andrea Phillipou (Orygen), Dr Elizabeth Swann (Perth Child
Institution
Curtin University
Contact Information
More Info Website
Tom McAlpine/0400 449 499/thomas.mcalpine@curtin.edu.au
ARFID is an eating disorder which is characterised by an avoidance or restriction of certain types of foods because of an aversion to specific features of the food (e.g., taste, smell, shape, colour), specific fears related to eating (e.g., choking, vomiting), or a disinterest in eating. This can lead to severe malnutrition and other related adverse physical and psychological outcomes associated with avoidant/restrictive behaviours (Kambanis et al., 2019; Nitsch et al., 2023; Ramirez & Gunturu, 2024; Robison et al., 2022; Zickgraf et al., 2016).
However, current assessment processes cannot easily distinguish ARFID from other eating disorders, which can delay diagnosis and complicate treatment. We have aimed to develop a brief and psychometrically valid measure of ARFID symptomatology in response to calls for the needs described and are now seeking to test this survey in a community sample of those self-reporting eating challenges.
We hope this project will result in a brief, psychometrically sound measure of ARFID symptomatology, suitable for screening, and research purposes. Availability of such a scale will help accelerate research and ultimately benefit those experiencing ARFID, by allowing for a more accurate and inclusive method for screening and tracking symptomatology.
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