Development and Validation of an Eating Disorder Screening Tool for Children in Primary Care

Clinical practice guidelines for medical professionals working with children and adolescents recommend routine screening for eating disorders. However, no validated screening tools exist for this age group. The aim of this study was to design and validate a brief, caregiver-based screening tool for eating disorders in children ages 6-12 that can be used in primary care. Caregivers of children aged 6-12 completed a battery of questionnaires (N=1,760). A subsample of caregivers completed semi-structured diagnostic interviews (n=255) to evaluate child eating disorder diagnosis. Standard data science practices were used to determine which questions were best at detecting an eating disorder and the most appropriate scoring threshold. Our final screener consists of two items that were effective at discriminating between children with an eating disorder and those without one and that were general enough to capture multiple diagnoses. As is recommended by organizations such as the AAP, this tool would ideally be administered to all caregivers of children ages 6-12 at yearly wellness visits beginning at the age of 6.