title: Assessment of eating disorders: interview or self-report questionnaire?
abstract: A detailed comparison was made of two methods for assessing the features of eating disorders. An investigator-based interview was compared with a self-report questionnaire based directly on that interview. A number of important discrepancies emerged. Although the two measures performed similarly with respect to the assessment of unambiguous behavioral features such as self-induced vomiting and dieting, the self-report questionnaire generated higher scores than the interview when assessing more complex features such as binge eating and concerns about shape. Both methods underestimated body weight.
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Fairburn
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Beglin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D012647:Self-Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires