Background: The Structured Inventory for Anorexic and Bulimic Syndromes according to DSM-IV and ICD-10 consists of the Structured Expert Interview for Anorexic and Bulimic Syndromes (SIAB-EX) and the corresponding self report questionnaire (SIAB-S). These instruments assess symptoms of eating disorders and other symptoms often found in eating-disordered individuals (e.g. anxieties, symptoms of OCD, depression, substance abuse and impairment of sexuality and social integration). Thus, parallel forms for self-report and expert rating are available. Separate factor analyses resulted in very similar factor structures for self-report and interview as well as for both time points assessed: current (last 3 months before the interview) and past (time from puberty up to 3 months before the interview). Both assessments can be used for diagnosing eating disorders according to DSM-IV and ICD-10 and a total score can be computed. Method: Test criteria were assessed using a sample of 377 inpatients treated for an eating disorder. For the expert interview, SIAB-EX data were collected in a community sample of 202 young women without eating disorders. Results: Test criteria were satisfying or better. Interrater reliability (kappa) for the expert interview SIAB-EX was 0,81 (current) and 0,85 (past). Sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value were very good for the SIAB-EX (ppv = 0.91 lifetime) and the SIAB-S (ppv = 0.98 lifetime). Means for SIAB-EX and SIAB-S for the inpatient sample are reported. For the expert interview SIAB-EX norms for 202 young non-eating disordered women are given. Conclusion: The expert interview SIAB-EX can be seen as a `gold standard' for the assessment of eating disorders. The SIAB-EX is available in German, English, Italian and Spanish.
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