There is growing recognition that
binge eating is a prevalent problem with serious implications for both clinical and nonclinical samples. The current study aimed at examining the factor structure, psychometric properties and the screening usefulness of the
Binge Eating Scale (
BES) in a large sample of female college students and women from the Portuguese general population. A sample of 1008 participants was collected to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis and test the
BES psychometric properties; 150 participants were further evaluated through the
Eating Disorder Examination 16.0D to assess the discriminant validity of the
BES. Results confirmed that the
BES presents a sound one-dimensional factorial structure, with very good construct reliability and convergent validity. Also, the scale presented very good retest-reliability. Findings also offered evidence that the
BES is positively associated with measures of eating and general psychopathology, and BMI. Furthermore, the
BES revealed an excellent performance (96.7%) on discriminating clinically significant cases of
binge eating, showing a sensitivity of 81.8% and a specificity of 97.8%. Results support the validity and usefulness of the
BES as an assessment and screening tool for
binge eating in women from the general population.