Psychometric properties of the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ) in a clinical sample of Turkish adolescents.

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ) in an adolescent clinical sample.

METHODS

The sample consisted of 267 adolescents aged 13-17 years (64.8% girls; mean age = 15.23 ± 1.29 years) recruited from child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinics of two university hospitals in Türkiye. The NEQ, Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26), Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale - Child Version (RCADS-CV), and Sleep Quality Scale and Sleep Variables Questionnaire (SQS-SVQ) were administered. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), internal consistency, and convergent validity were examined.

RESULTS

EFA identified a four-factor structure accounting for 62.39% of the total variance, consistent with the original factor solution. CFA supported the four-factor structure of the NEQ (CMIN/df = 1.606, RMSEA = 0.048, CFI = 0.964, TLI = 0.951), consisting of nocturnal ingestions, evening hyperphagia, morning anorexia, and mood/sleep disturbances. Internal consistency was acceptable for the total scale (Cronbach's α = 0.73). The NEQ demonstrated meaningful convergent validity through significant positive correlations with sleep quality, anxiety, depression, and disordered eating attitudes. Adolescents in the overweight group reported significantly higher NEQ total scores, particularly on the evening hyperphagia and mood/sleep disturbances subscales. Girls showed higher scores on morning anorexia and mood/sleep disturbances compared with boys.

CONCLUSIONS

The Turkish NEQ demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties in an adolescent clinical sample and appears to be a valid and reliable instrument for assessing night eating symptoms in Turkish adolescent clinical populations.