Psychometric assessment of Persian translation of Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0 (YFAS 2.0) in Iranian college students

Nikzad Ghanbari; Roghieh Nooripour; Abbas Firoozabadi; Tabassom Saeid Par Var; Pamela Wisniewski; Seyed Ruhollah Hosseini

doi:10.1186/s40337-022-00689-5

Psychometric assessment of Persian translation of Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0 (YFAS 2.0) in Iranian college students

J Eat Disord. 2022 Nov 10;10(1):158. doi: 10.1186/s40337-022-00689-5.

Authors

Nikzad Ghanbari¹, Roghieh Nooripour², Abbas Firoozabadi³, Tabassom Saeid Par Var⁴, Pamela Wisniewski⁵, Seyed Ruhollah Hosseini⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
² Department of Counseling, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.
³ Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
⁴ Addiction Department, School of Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁵ Department of Computer Science Faculty Fellow, Flowers Family in Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
⁶ Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran. r_hosseini@um.ac.ir.

Abstract

Background: Food addiction at the individual level causes physical and mental health problems, impairs individuals' social functioning, and causes dysfunction in the family system. Therefore, a tool to identify this behavioral disorder is one of the health requirements of communities. This research aimed to investigate the psychometric assessment of the Persian translation of Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0 (YFAS 2.0) in Iranian college students.

Method: This research was cross-sectional descriptive, and 451 students were selected by convenience sampling method. Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0 (YFAS 2.0), Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), and Food Craving Questionnaire-Trait, reduced (FCQ-T-r) were used to collect data.

Results: The confirmatory factor analysis indicated that single-factor model provides a good fit to data (SRMR = 0.078; CFI = 0.94; NFI = 0.92; IFI = 0.94; RFI = 0.91; GFI = 0.90; RMSEA = 0.078). The YFAS's 2.0 positive correlations with three DASS-21 subscales ranged from 0.30 to 0.39, and Food Craving Questionnaire-Trait, reduced (FCQ-T-r) ranged from 0.58 to 0.72. All correlations were statistically significant, indicating acceptable convergent validity (P < 0.01).

Conclusion: The validity of the Persian questionnaire translation has been confirmed. Researchers and specialists can use this scale to diagnose food addiction for research or diagnostic purposes in Iranian society.

Keywords: Food addiction; Psychometric properties; Students; Validation; YFAS 2.0.

Plain language summary

The term "food addiction" refers to the behavior of consuming highly palatable foods (such as salty, fatty, and sweet foods) in quantities beyond what is necessary to maintain a healthy diet. Some individuals may become addicted to food by consuming palatable and highly processed foods (e.g., fast food). There is growing scientific interest in food addiction. This study aims to examine the psychometric assessment of Persian translation of Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0 (YFAS 2.0) In Iranian college students. Participants in the study included 451 Iranian college students who completed both questionnaires online. The results showed that the YFAS's 2.0, DASS-21, and FCQ-T-r had positive correlations indicating acceptable convergent validity. So the Persian translation YFAS 2.0 is suitable for measuring food addiction among Iranian college students, and it could be used in clinical and research settings.