The addition of a parent and clinician component to the eating disorder examination for children and adolescents

OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to evaluate the addition of parent and clinician reports to the eating disorder examination (EDE) when used with children and adolescents. METHOD: The EDE was completed with 117 children and adolescents with eating disorders (mean age 14.95 +/- 1.91 years). A slightly modified version of the EDE was completed with parents, and clinician summary scores were assigned. Repeated measures analysis was used to compare child, parent, and clinician scores. RESULTS: In those 70 participants with anorexia nervosa (AN) or eating disorder not otherwise specified with a restrictive pattern (EDNOS-R), child scores were significantly lower than parent scores and clinician scores on restraint and weight concerns. On eating concerns and shape concerns, child scores were lower than clinician scores. Participants with bulimia nervosa (BN) or eating disorder not otherwise specified with binge eating or purging (EDNOS-BP), reported more restraint and shape concerns than parents (n = 47), but their scores did not differ from clinician ratings. No differences were seen in this group on weight concerns or eating concerns. CONCLUSION: Parent and clinician reports are particularly important when assessing children and adolescents with AN or EDNOS-R, but may be less critical for those with BN or EDNOS-BP.