title: Early-onset restrictive eating disturbances in primary school boys and girls.
abstract: This study sought to determine the distribution of early-onset restrictive eating disturbances characteristic of the new DSM-5 diagnosis, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in middle childhood, as well as to evaluate the screening instrument, Eating Disturbances in Youth-Questionnaire (EDY-Q). A total of 1,444 8- to 13-year-old children were screened in regular schools (3rd to 6th grade) in Switzerland using the self-report measure EDY-Q, consisting of 12 items based on the DSM-5 criteria for ARFID. 46 children (3.2%) reported features of ARFID in the self-rating. Group differences were found for body mass index, with underweight children reporting features of ARFID more often than normal and overweight children. The EDY-Q revealed good psychometric properties, including adequate discriminant and convergent validity. Early-onset restrictive eating disturbances are commonly reported in middle childhood. Because of possible negative short- and long-term impact, early detection is essential. Further studies with structured interviews and parent reports are needed to confirm this study's findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Rue P.-A. Faucigny 2, 1700, Fribourg, Switzerland, susanne.kurz@unifr.ch.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kurz
authors.forename: Zoé
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: van Dyck
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dremmel
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Munsch
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hilbert
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017668:Age of Onset; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D019959:Feeding and Eating Disorders of Childhood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology