SCOFF in a general swedish adolescent population

Area of Science:

• Adolescent psychology
• Eating disorder research
• Psychometric validation

Background:

• Disordered eating behaviors (DEB) are linked to severe eating disorders and mortality.
• Existing screening methods may overrepresent female prevalence of DEB.
• The SCOFF questionnaire is a potential tool for DEB screening, but requires further validation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the SCOFF questionnaire for assessing DEB in Swedish adolescents.
• To compare SCOFF results with the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q).
• To investigate potential gender-based differences in SCOFF responses.

Main Methods:

• 1265 Swedish adolescents completed self-report questionnaires.
• The SCOFF questionnaire was used for DEB screening.
• The EDE-Q served as the reference standard for validation.

Main Results:

• Factor analyses yielded inconclusive results on SCOFF's comprehensiveness.
• A correlation was found between SCOFF and EDE-Q scores in both genders.
• Girls reported significantly higher SCOFF scores than boys, indicating more severe DEB.

Conclusions:

• The SCOFF questionnaire's interpretation may differ between genders, potentially masking male DEB.
• Using one 'yes' instead of two may be a screening consideration.
• The study challenges the universal applicability of SCOFF in general adolescent populations.