Reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Salzburg emotional eating scale: a psychometric study.

BACKGROUND

The Salzburg Emotional Eating Scale (SEES) measures emotional eating by evaluating responses to both positive and negative emotions. This study aimed to establish the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the SEES (SEES-TR).

METHOD

The SEES was translated into Turkish and back-translated into English. The translated version was reviewed by experts and pretested on a preliminary sample. The final version was administered to 303 participants from Namık Kemal University (mean age: 22.1 ± 4.8 years, 89.1% female). The data collected included demographic information and responses to the SEES and the Emotional Eating Subscale of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ). Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega, and test-retest analyses. Validity was evaluated using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, along with content and face validity and convergent validity.

RESULTS

The SEES-TR demonstrated high internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha values for the subscales ranged from 0.913 to 0.942, indicating excellent reliability. McDonald's omega values supported these findings. Test-retest reliability indicated stability over time. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed a four-factor structure consistent with the original SEES, corresponding to happiness, sadness, anger, and anxiety, further supported by confirmatory factor analysis. Content and face validity were established through expert reviews and pretesting. Significant positive correlations (r = 0.425-0.522, p < 0.01) between the SEES-TR subscales and the DEBQ Emotional Eating Subscale indicate strong convergent validity.

CONCLUSION

The Turkish version of the Salzburg Emotional Eating Scale showed reliability and validity for assessing emotional eating behaviors in the Turkish population. This tool can be useful in both clinical and research settings to evaluate emotional eating in response to various emotional states.