Psychometric properties of the Farsi version of the Night Eating Disorder Questionnaire

Abstract

This study assesses the factor structure and psychometric properties of Farsi version of Night Eating Questionnaire. In this cross-sectional study, we randomly selected 155 people referred to Shafa hospital and private psychiatry clinic in Rasht City, Iran. After translation to Farsi and back-translation to English, the face and content validity of NEQ Farsi version were evaluated using the opinions of a panel of experts and calculating the content validity ratio and content validity index. Then, the construct validity was evaluated by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), the Cronbach α coefficient was used for assessing internal consistency and the Intra class Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was used for assessing test-retest reliability. The mean age of participants was 41.1 ± 12.9 Years. The CFA results showed that the four-factor model had a good fit. Cronbach’s alpha showed an overall coefficient of 0.72. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was 0.97 and the intra-class correlation coefficient was 0.99 (95% CI 0.97–0.99), indicating a satisfactory level of test-retest reliability. The Farsi version of the NEQ has acceptable psychometric properties for the Farsi language and Iranian culture, to be used as a valid and reliable tool in future research, care, and therapeutic activities. This study was conducted to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Farsiversion of the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ). The NEQ is a tool designed toidentify nighttime eating behaviors and related problems. In this study, 155individuals referred to Shafa Hospital and a private psychiatric clinic inRasht, Iran, were randomly selected. The questionnaire was first translatedfrom English into Persian and then back-translated into English to ensure theaccuracy of the translation. Content validity was confirmed through expertpanel review and the calculation of relevant statistical indices. To assessconstruct validity, confirmatory factor analysis was used, which indicated thatthe four‑factor model of the questionnaire had a good fit withthe data. Internal consistency reliability was measured using Cronbach's alphacoefficient, which yielded a value of 0.72, indicating an acceptable level.Furthermore, test‑retest reliability, assessed by the intraclasscorrelation coefficient, was 0.99 (with a 95% confidence interval of 0.97 to0.99), demonstrating very high reproducibility of the results. Overall, thePersian version of the NEQ shows satisfactory psychometric properties for useamong Persian‑speaking populations and can serve as a valid and reliabletool in research, clinical care, and therapeutic activities in Iran.