Psychometric properties of Eating Disorder Inventory for Children (EDI-C) in Swedish girls with and without a known eating disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the Swedish version of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI-C) for the internal consistency, factor structure and ability to discriminate between adolescent girls with and without a known eating disorder (ED). METHODS: Completely answered EDI-C questionnaires were available from 201 girls diagnosed with an ED and from 2073 schoolgirls. The girls were adolescents attending grade 7-12. RESULTS: Internal consistency was 0.70-0.91 for the ED group. Eleven factors with eigenvalue > 2.2 explained 56% of the variance and showed satisfying correspondence to the proposed constructs of EDI-C. A discriminant analysis classified 85.6% of the cases correctly. The three most important discriminating subscales were Drive for Thinness, Asceticism and Body Dissatisfaction. All subscales except Maturity Fears showed significantly higher mean values for the ED group. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that the psychometric properties of EDI-C are comparable to the properties of EDI-2. EDI-C should be preferred for adolescents since its statements suit this age group.

Adolescent depression: social network and family climate--a case-control study.

In a study of a total high-school population, 2300 students aged 16-17 years were screened for depression (BDI, CES-DC). Those with a self-evaluation indicating depression, together with controls matched for sex, age, and class were interviewed (DICA-R-A). The 177 pairs, where both individuals were interviewed and the control had no lifetime diagnosis of depression, were analysed in the form of paired differences for psychosocial factors and compared within diagnostic groups. The psychosocial factors were measured with the ISSI subscales and six attitude questions about family climate (KSP). Adolescents with an episode of major depression during part of the last year did not differ from their controls. Those with long-lasting depressive symptoms, i.e. dysthymia with or without episodes of major depression, had a more limited social interaction and were not satisfied with it. They also evaluated their family climate and attachment network as being more inadequate than did their controls. Depressed adolescents with comorbid conduct disorder had a more negative evaluation of availability and adequacy of both social interaction and attachment network than their controls. This group had a very negative view of their family climate. Since this is a case-control study conclusions cannot be drawn about cause and effect.