Psychometric Evaluation of SAFA P Test for Eating Disorders in Adolescents: Comparative Validation with EDI-2.

Objective This study evaluates the psychometric properties of self-administered psychiatric scale for children and adolescents with psychogenic eating disorders (SAFA P)-a brief self-report designed to screen and assess eating disorders (ED) in children and adolescents. Although SAFA P belongs to a broad battery of tests (SAFA) that explores different psychiatric conditions, it has not undergone appropriate validation until now. Method We administered SAFA P and Eating Disorder Inventory 2 (EDI-2) to 87 ED patients, with an average age of 15.4 ± 1.6 years. Results The internal reliability of SAFA P is good (Cronbach α = .776). Convergent validity with EDI-2 was assessed: both SAFA P subscale P1 ( p < .005) and EDI-2 subscale bulimia ( p < .001) showed a statistically significant difference among the three diagnostic categories (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and eating disorder not otherwise specified). Sensibility and specificity range from 62 to 91%, depending on the subscales. McNemar's test did not reveal statistically significant differences in assessing the concordance of the two measures. Statistically significant correlations were found between specific couples of subscales ( p < .001). Conclusions Cross-validation with EDI-2 showed good results. SAFA P may be an alternative, useful and reliable instrument for assessing cursory ED in childhood and adolescence. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]