Revisiting the Revised Master Questionnaire for the Psychological Evaluation of Bariatric Surgery Candidates

Background This study aims to evaluate the Revised Master Questionnaire (MQR), a measure of cognitive and behavioral difficulties related to weight management, for use in bariatric surgery evaluations. The MQR’s five domains include stimulus control, hopelessness, motivation, physical attribution, and energy balance knowledge, all of which are relevant to bariatric surgery evaluation. Methods Participants were 790 bariatric surgery candidates presenting for psychological evaluation in an urban medical center. Internal consistency reliability analyses were performed on the overall scale and subscales. Confirmatory factor analysis using principal components analysis was performed and the results compared with the original behavioral weight loss sample. Convergent validity with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Binge Eating Scale (BES) were evaluated. Differences in normative data for subgroups of the bariatric sample (by obesity category and by surgery type) were also evaluated. Results Alpha coefficients and mean inter-item correlations were largely acceptable and similar to the original behavioral weight loss sample. Factor analyses supported the consistency of the underlying factor structure. Convergent validity between the BDI and BES and relevant subscales was obtained. Overall, bariatric surgery candidates had significantly more adaptive scores than behavioral weight loss patients on three of the five scales; however, scores on physical attribution and energy balance knowledge were significantly lower. Candidates for gastric banding surgery had significantly more adaptive scores on all five subscales than candidates for gastric bypass surgery. Conclusions The MQR evaluates important but underassessed weight control-related constructs and has acceptable psychometric properties. Based on these findings, it is recommended for use as a component of the psychological evaluation for bariatric surgery.