Cuestionario SCOFF para tamizaje de trastornos de la conducta alimentaria: consistencia interna en estudiantes de un colegio de Cartagena, Colombia

Abstract

Background: The SCOFF questionnaire for screening eating disorders is criterion validated among female adolescent students from Bucaramanga, Colombia. However, the psychometric properties of a scale vary according to the population, and internal consistency of the SCOFF questionnaire is not known in Colombian Caribbean students. Objective: To know the internal consistency of the SCOFF questionnaire for gender among school attending adolescents of a school settled in low-income area at the city of Cartagena, Colombia. Method: A total of 416 students aged 13-17 years old filled-out the SCOFF questionnaire in the classroom, mean age 14.6 years for girls and 14.8 years, for boys. The SCOFF questionnaire is a five-item scale that inquires about make yourself sick, lost control, lost more than one stone in three months, believe yourself fat, food dominates the life. Kuder-Richardson’s formula 20 was computed to know the internal consistency. Results: For girls, the internal consistency of the SCOFF questionnaire was 0.343, and for boys, 0.209. Girls pointed higher than boys in make yourself sick, lost control and believe yourself fat; and boys higher than girls in food dominates the life (p<0.05). Conclusions: The internal consistency of the SCOFF questionnaire is poor among adolescent students dwelling in a lowincome area of this city. It is necessary to rely on a tool with better psychometric properties for this population.