Development and initial validation of the Drunkorexia Motives and Behaviors scales

•A variety of drunkorexic motives and behaviors present across a drinking episode.•Drunkorexic motives are related to conformity drinking motives.•Male students report more drunkorexia motives and drinking when drunkorexia fails.

Drunkorexia, or restricting calorie intake on days when alcohol consumption is planned, is a trend among college students. The purpose of the present study is to develop a measure of motivations for drunkorexia before, during, and after alcohol consumption. College students (n = 349, Mage = 20.71 years) completed an online survey including the Drinking Motives Questionnaire—Revised, the Eating Attitudes Test-26, and various drunkorexia items. A multidimensional measure of drunkorexia motives was developed through an iterative measurement development process. The first scale assesses drunkorexia motivations and behaviors through two subscales: Drunkorexia Motives and Drunkorexia Behaviors. The second scale assesses behaviors when drunkorexia is planned, but for various reasons, the individual did not restrict calories prior to alcohol consumption. The third measure examines restrictive drinking behaviors during an alcohol consumption event. The final scale measures compensatory behaviors after an alcohol consumption event. The newly developed measures relate to other established eating disorder and alcohol measures. Specifically, drunkorexia motives seem to be derived from conformity drinking motives. Male students report higher levels of drunkorexia motives and consuming alcohol when drunkorexia fails. The newly developed measures provide an additional perspective on the drunkorexia literature.