TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparison of assessments of children's eating-disordered behaviors by interview and questionnaire
AU - Tanofsky-Kraff, Marian
AU - Morgan, Christina M.
AU - Yanovski, Susan Z.
AU - Marmarosh, Cheri
AU - Wilfley, Denise E.
AU - Yanovski, Jack A.
PY - 2003/3/1
Y1 - 2003/3/1
N2 - Objective: In adults, interview methods may detect eating-disordered behaviors more accurately than self-report methods. However, no studies have investigated the relationships between interview and self-report assessments in children. We compared results from the Eating Disorder Examination adapted for Children (ChEDE) with the Adolescent version of the Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns (QEWP-A) and with the Children's Eating Attitude Test (ChEAT) in a nontreatment sample of overweight and normal weight children. Method: The ChEDE, QEWP-A, and ChEAT were administered to 46 overweight (body mass index [BMI] at or above the 85th percentile) and 42 normal weight (BMI at the 15th-85th percentile) children, 10 ± 1.8 years, recruited from the community. Results: The ChEDE and QEWP-A were not concordant for the number or type of eating episodes that occurred in the past month. Compared with the ChEDE, the QEWP-A was reasonably specific, but it was not sensitive for the presence of objective (17% sensitivity, 91% specificity) or subjective bulimic episodes (0% sensitivity, 89% specificity) during the past month. ChEDE and ChEAT global scores were significantly related (Kendall's tau = 0.286, p < .001), but specific items assessing guilt in relation to eating and preoccupation with food were not. Discussion: Although self-report methods of eating disorder assessment in children may provide some general information regarding eating psychopathology in non-treatment-seeking children, they do not accurately reflect the results of a structured interview.
AB - Objective: In adults, interview methods may detect eating-disordered behaviors more accurately than self-report methods. However, no studies have investigated the relationships between interview and self-report assessments in children. We compared results from the Eating Disorder Examination adapted for Children (ChEDE) with the Adolescent version of the Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns (QEWP-A) and with the Children's Eating Attitude Test (ChEAT) in a nontreatment sample of overweight and normal weight children. Method: The ChEDE, QEWP-A, and ChEAT were administered to 46 overweight (body mass index [BMI] at or above the 85th percentile) and 42 normal weight (BMI at the 15th-85th percentile) children, 10 ± 1.8 years, recruited from the community. Results: The ChEDE and QEWP-A were not concordant for the number or type of eating episodes that occurred in the past month. Compared with the ChEDE, the QEWP-A was reasonably specific, but it was not sensitive for the presence of objective (17% sensitivity, 91% specificity) or subjective bulimic episodes (0% sensitivity, 89% specificity) during the past month. ChEDE and ChEAT global scores were significantly related (Kendall's tau = 0.286, p < .001), but specific items assessing guilt in relation to eating and preoccupation with food were not. Discussion: Although self-report methods of eating disorder assessment in children may provide some general information regarding eating psychopathology in non-treatment-seeking children, they do not accurately reflect the results of a structured interview.
KW - Assessment
KW - Binge eating
KW - Eating-disordered pathology
KW - Interview
KW - Questionnaires
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0037371072&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/eat.10128
DO - 10.1002/eat.10128
M3 - Article
C2 - 12616588
AN - SCOPUS:0037371072
SN - 0276-3478
VL - 33
SP - 213
EP - 224
JO - International Journal of Eating Disorders
JF - International Journal of Eating Disorders
IS - 2
ER -