Evaluating the psychometric properties of the mindful eating questionnaire: Turkish validity and reliability study

Akik B. K., Yiğit İ.

CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY, cilt.42, sa.15, ss.12661-12670, 2023 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 42 Sayı: 15
  • Basım Tarihi: 2023
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s12144-021-02502-z
  • Dergi Adı: CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, BIOSIS, Business Source Elite, Business Source Premier, Psycinfo
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.12661-12670
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Mindfulness, Mindful eating, Reliability, Validity, Cross-cultural utility, WEIGHT-LOSS, INTERVENTIONS, DISORDERS, VERSION, BEHAVIORS, AWARENESS, OBESITY, SPECIFICATION, VALIDATION, MEDITATION
  • TED Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Mindful eating is a phenomenon to describe a nonjudgmental awareness of physical and emotional sensations while eating or being in a food-related environment. Nowadays, weight-related psychological and physiological health problems are gradually increasing. It is considered that mindful eating is one of the key components to struggle against dysfunctional eating patterns. The aim of the current study was to adapt the original five-factor structure of the MEQ and the abbreviated two-factor structure of the MEQ to Turkish culture and to determine its psychometric properties. The sample of the study was 362 university students aged between 18 and 27 (M = 20.82, SD = 3.83). Of the participants 249 (68.8%) were women, 110 (30.4%) were men, and three participants stated their sex as "other". Participants were asked to fill the Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ), Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q), Intuitive Eating Scale (IES) and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Results of confirmatory factor analysis showed an acceptable model fit for the correlated two-factor structure of the MEQ compared to its original five-factor structure. Internal consistency coefficient values for the overall MEQ and awareness and recognition subscales were .82, .71 and .82, respectively. The MEQ sub-scales' scores were found to be associated with EDE-Q, IES, and BSI scores, confirming the validity of the scale. The Turkish version of the two-factor MEQ could be evaluated as a valid and reliable measurement to assess mindful eating for further research and would also provide support to cross-cultural research.