title: SCOFF, the development of an eating disorder screening questionnaire.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This article describes the three-stage development of the SCOFF, a screening tool for eating disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  Study 1 details questionnaire development and testing on cases and controls. Study 2 examines reliability of verbal versus written administration in a student population. Study 3 validates the test as a screening tool in primary care.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The SCOFF demonstrates good validity compared with DSM-IV diagnosis on clinical interview. In the primary care setting it had a sensitivity of 84.6% and a specificity of 89.6%, detecting all true cases of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa and seven of nine cases of EDNOS. Reliability between written and verbal versions of the SCOFF was high, with a kappa statistic of 0.82.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The SCOFF, which has been adapted for use in diverse languages, appears highly effective as a screening instrument and has been widely adopted to raise the index of suspicion of an eating disorder.
authors.affiliation: Wonford House Hospital, Exeter, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Laura S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.forename: John F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.forename: J Hubert
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lacey