TITLE:
Yale Food Addiction Scale: Examining the Psychometric Properties of the French Version among Individuals with Severe Obesity Awaiting Bariatric Surgery
AUTHORS:
Anne-Sophie Ouellette, Christopher Rodrigue, Simone Lemieux, André Tchernof, Laurent Biertho, Catherine Bégin
KEYWORDS:
Food addiction, Yale Food Addiction Scale, Bariatric Surgery, Obesity, Psychometric Properties, Validation
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.8 No.14,
December
27,
2017
ABSTRACT: The French version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), used to evaluate food addiction symptomatology, has only been validated among the general population. The aim of this study was thus to explore the psychometric properties (factor structure, internal consistency, convergent and divergent validity) of the French version of the YFAS in a clinical sample, namely individuals suffering from severe obesity and awaiting bariatric surgery. Participants (N = 146; mean BMI = 48.29 kg/m2) were recruited at the Quebec Heart and Lung Institute (Canada) during their pre-operative visit. They were asked to complete questionnaires, including the YFAS. Factorial and correlational analyses were performed. Some items had to be removed from the factorial analysis due to a lack of variability (#4, #10, #11, #12, and #22) and low factor loading (#24). The analysis conducted on the remaining 16 items revealed a one-factor structure, with factor loadings higher than .30 and excellent internal consistency (α = .92). The present findings are consistent with previous validation studies of samples presenting obesity and support the use of a 16-item version of the French YFAS among bariatric candidates. However, the need for further investigation remains important in order to better assess the stability of the instrument when used in clinical samples.