Development and validation of a short form of the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 in adolescents

Background: The Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (YFAS 2.0) consists of 35 items and assesses food addiction (FA) according to the 11 DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for substance-related and addictive disorders, plus impairment or distress. Its 13-item short form, the modified YFAS 2.0 (mYFAS 2.0), has been found to yield a lower symptom count and a lower FA prevalence. This work aimed to develop an alternative short form of the YFAS 2.0, the revised YFAS 2.0 (rYFAS 2.0), designed to reproduce the YFAS 2.0 results as closely as possible. Methods: Two studies were conducted in large, independent samples of adolescents recruited from middle and high schools to develop the instrument and to evaluate its psychometric properties (factor structure, internal consistency, and measurement invariance across gender and school level), as well as its ability to reproduce YFAS 2.0 symptom counts, FA diagnoses, and FA correlates. Results: The rYFAS 2.0 consists of 24 items and showed a one-dimensional factor structure, very good internal consistency, and invariance across gender and school level. It reproduced YFAS 2.0 symptom counts and FA diagnoses very well and better than the mYFAS 2.0 (for comparisons with YFAS 2.0 symptom counts, mean Cohen’s d = 0.47 and 0.75 for rYFAS 2.0 and mYFAS 2.0, mean Pearson’s r =.99 and.92 for rYFAS 2.0 and mYFAS 2.0; mean overall accuracy in replicating YFAS 2.0 FA diagnoses was.982 and.911 for rYFAS 2.0 and mYFAS 2.0, respectively). It also reproduced YFAS 2.0 findings on FA prevalence and correlates. Conclusions: The rYFAS 2.0 is a valuable instrument for use in clinical settings and studies requiring an efficient yet sensitive measure of FA.