NORMS OF THE ANOREXIA-NERVOSA INVENTORY F OR SELF-EVALUATION BY FEMALE ADOLESCENTS IN THE RISK GROUP FOR EATING DISORDERS

A population-based sample (n = 1402) of German speaking schoolgirls ag ed 11 to 20 years and living in Brixen/Bressanone in Italy was surveye d with the Anorexia Nervosa Inventory for Self-Rating (ANIS; Fichter & Keeser 1980). The ANIS total score and its subscales except obsessive -compulsive traits showed acceptable internal consistency. Significant correlations between ANIS (sub)scale scores and disturbed eating beha viour support the criterion validity of the test. The ANIS and most of its subscales are correlated with weight and age. To disentangle age, weight and social class effects, analyses of covariance have been con ducted. Age and weight effects proved most important in preadolescent girls (< 14 years), whereas weight effects predominate in adolescent g irls (greater than or equal to 14 years). Thus, being overweight is a risk factor for developing eating disorders. Analysing subscale scores , Figure Consciousness and the other subscales measuring the specific psychopathology of eating disorders, and Feelings of Inadequacy correl ate positively with weight, whereas Sexual Anxieties correlate negativ ely with age. Social class showed no significant correlation with ANIS scores. Normative data for three different age groups (11-13,9/14-16, 9/17-20 years) are presented. In addition, percentiles have been calcu lated for the at risk population of German speaking females (i.e. thos e aged 11-13.9 and 14-20 years). A comparison with the same age bands surveyed in the mid eighties in the same region indicates historical c hanges, i.e, a period effect, the recent cohorts showing more disturbe d attitudes towards weight and shape.