[Validation of the SCOFF questionnaire for screening the eating behaviour disorders of adolescents in school]
G E Rueda Jaimes, L A Díaz Martínez, D P Ortiz Barajas, C Pinzón Plata, J Rodríguez Martínez, L P Cadena Afanador, G E Rueda Jaimes, L A Díaz Martínez, D P Ortiz Barajas, C Pinzón Plata, J Rodríguez Martínez, L P Cadena Afanador
Abstract
Objective: To determine the internal consistency and criteria validity of the SCOFF questionnaire for screening adolescent eating behaviour disorders.
Design: Validation study with stochastic sampling.
Setting: Three schools at Bucaramanga, Colombia.
Participants: 241 students selected at random from 1595 possible ones.
Main interventions: SCOFF questionnaire and semi-structured CIDI interview, administered independently.
Main measurements: Social and personal details, Cronbach's alpha, sensitivity analysis, specificity, forecast values, Cohen mean kappa test, and ROC curve.
Results: Sensitivity found was 81.9% (95% CI, 70.7-89.7) and specificity, 78.7% (95% CI, 71.7-84.6). The area under the ROC curve was 0.8596 (95% CI, 0.8108-0.9084); the Cronbach's alpha test, 0.436, and the Cohen mean kappa, 0.554 (95% CI, 0.425-0.683).
Conclusions: The SCOFF questionnaire is an acceptable alternative for screening groups of adolescents because of its simplicity and speed of administration.
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Source: PubMed