Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education, and Applied Psychology, Section of Applied Psychology, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy.
Interdepartmental Center for Family Research, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy.
Nutrients. 2022 Dec 25;15(1):104. doi: 10.3390/nu15010104.
The purpose of this research is to test the psychometric properties and factorial structure of the Addiction-like Eating Behaviors Scale (AEBS) in an Italian sample of adults with severe obesity seeking treatment for weight reduction and the general population, and to examine the measurement invariance of the tool by comparing a clinical and a nonclinical sample.
A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was initially conducted to test the factorial structure of the Italian version of the AEBS (AEBS-IT) on a total of 953 participants. Following this, the measurement invariance and psychometric properties of the tool AEBS-IT were assessed on both inpatients with severe obesity ( = 502) and individuals from the general population ( = 451). Reliability and convergent validity analysis were also run.
CFA revealed a bi-factor structure for the AEBS-IT, which also showed good reliability and positive correlations with food addiction (through the mYFAS2.0 symptom count), binge-eating symptoms, compulsive eating behavior, and dysfunctional eating patterns and the individuals' body mass index (BMI). Moreover, the tool was invariant across populations.
This study provided evidence that the AEBS-IT is a valid and reliable measure of FA in both clinical and nonclinical samples.
本研究旨在检验成瘾样进食行为量表（AEBS）在寻求减重治疗的意大利重度肥胖成年人和一般人群中的心理测量学特性和因子结构，并通过比较临床和非临床样本，检验该工具的测量不变性。
对共 953 名参与者进行了确认性因子分析（CFA），以初步检验 AEBS 意大利语版（AEBS-IT）的因子结构。随后，对重度肥胖住院患者（n=502）和一般人群中的个体（n=451）的 AEBS-IT 进行了测量不变性和心理测量学特性评估。还进行了可靠性和收敛效度分析。
CFA 显示 AEBS-IT 具有双因子结构，该结构还具有良好的可靠性，与食物成瘾（通过 mYFAS2.0 症状计数）、暴食症状、强迫性进食行为、功能失调性进食模式以及个体的体重指数（BMI）呈正相关。此外，该工具在人群中具有不变性。
本研究提供了证据，表明 AEBS-IT 是一种在临床和非临床样本中测量食物成瘾的有效且可靠的工具。
