Evaluation of the psychometric performance of the SCOFF questionnaire in a Mexican young adult sample

Abstract

Objective. To examine the psychometric performance of the SCOFF, a brief screening instrument for eating disorders (ED). Materials and methods. Mexican university applicants (n= 3594, 55.7% female, M age= 18.1 years) completed self-report measures and a health screen. Results. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed one factor for females. However a bifactor model fits better for males and females. Reliability was lower for females (KR20 = .49) than males (KR20 = .59). More females (24.2%) presented risk for ED (SCOFF > 2) than males (11.2%). Nomological validity indicated that risk for ED in young women was associated with demographic (e.g., parental education), psychological (e.g., depression, weight management efficacy), physical (e.g., BMI), and social (e.g., family conflict) indicators in conceptually coherent ways. Fewer variables were significant for males. Conclusion. Although the SCOFF may be a useful ED screen in Mexico, further research must examine its criterion validity, sensitivity, and specificity.

Psychometric Properties of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and Norms for Rural and Urban Adolescent Males and Females in Mexico

“…It is a 5-item questionnaire in which participants respond with either yes or no , and the total score is the sum of positive answers. Internal consistency of this short scale in the current follow-up subsample (KR20 = .58) was similar to that found with the Spanish adaptation in a sample of young Mexican adults [48]. …”

Nutrient intake in Spanish adolescents SCOFF high-scorers: the AVENA study

“…This result draw near to those of other studies in European adolescents from Spain (22.8 % in 2007) [38] and Germany (21.9 % in 2006) [39]. The prevalence in University students has been explored with the same screening tool in Greece (39.7 % in 2011) [40], Korea (34.8 % in 2005) [41], Mexico (24.2 % in females and 11.2 % in males in 2008) [32] and Pakistan (17 % in 2011) [42].…”

“…The SCOFF questionnaire was designed to raise suspicion that an ED might exist before accurate clinical assessment and therefore it has been translated into many languages [32]. Garcia-Campayo et al [33] proposed and validated the translation into Spanish in 2005 (97.7 % of sensibility and 94.4 % of specificity).…”

Risk Factors for Eating Disorders Among Male Adolescent Athletes / Dejavniki Tveganja Motenj Hranjenja Med Športniki V Adolescenci

“…It seems that in our sample participation in a competitive sport itself was not associated with increased risk for ED. The reported prevalence of risk for ED in male adolescents as described with the use of the SCOFF questionnaire ranged from 11.2% to 38.9% in previous studies ( 31 – 33 ). Our results are relatively high but within the range of previously reported results.…”