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Validation of the Italian Yale Food Addiction Scale in postgraduate university students.
- Source :
-
Eating and weight disorders : EWD [Eat Weight Disord] 2018 Apr; Vol. 23 (2), pp. 167-176. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Mar 12. - Publication Year :
- 2018
-
Abstract
- Purpose: This study was aimed to examine the structural and construct validity of the Italian version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale in a multisite sample of postgraduate students.<br />Methods: Two hundred and fifty-six subjects (78.1% females) aged from 18 to 53 years (mean = 23.93, SD = 4.96) and attending different postgraduate university programs at multiple Italian universities completed the Italian YFAS, the Italian Binge Eating Scale (BES), the Italian Eating Attitudes Test-26 and the Italian Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) online through Qualtrics.<br />Results: Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed that the single-factor model of the Italian YFAS including all original items had adequate fit indexes (χ <superscript>2</superscript> 252 = 454.183; p < 0.001; normed χ <superscript>2</superscript> = 1.802; RMSEA = 0.056; 90% CI 0.048-0.076; CFI = 0.761; WRMR = 1.592). However, item analysis revealed that item#25 had zero variance (all subjects were assigned the same score after item dichotomization) and item#24 had a low factor loading, and were thus removed. Furthermore, item#10 and item#11 showed to be almost perfectly correlated (r = 0.998) and were thus parceled. The resulting 19-item single-factor model revealed a better fit to the data (χ <superscript>2</superscript> 152 = 235.69; p < 0.001; normed χ <superscript>2</superscript> = 1.556; RMSEA = 0.046; 90% CI 0.034-0.058; CFI = 0.858; WRMR = 1.236) and its internal consistency was acceptable (KR-20 = 0.72). Also, a single-factor model including the seven diagnostic symptoms was tested and showed adequate fit values (χ <superscript>2</superscript> 20 = 41.911; p < 0.003; normed χ <superscript>2</superscript> = 2.09; RMSEA = 0.065; 90% CI 0.037-0.093; CFI = 0.946; WRMR = 1.132). Statistically significant and small-to-high correlations were found with all convergent measures, in particular with the BES.<br />Conclusion: The Italian 19-item YFAS resulted to be a valid and reliable tool for the assessment of food addiction in postgraduate students.<br />Level of Evidence: Level V, descriptive study.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1590-1262
- Volume :
- 23
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Eating and weight disorders : EWD
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 29532419
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-018-0495-0