Psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the Nine Item Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder Screen (NIAS) in a community sample of adults

Journal of Eating Disorders

Research

Toni Sawma¹  Sahar Obeid¹  Rabih Hallit²  Souheil Hallit³  Fouad Sakr⁴  Mariam Dabbous⁴  Diana Malaeb⁵  Feten Fekih-Romdhane⁶ 

[1] School of Arts and Sciences, Social and Education Sciences Department, Lebanese American University, Jbeil, Lebanon;School of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, P.O. Box 446, Jounieh, Lebanon;Department of Infectious Disease, Bellevue Medical Center, Mansourieh, Lebanon;Department of Infectious Disease, Notre Dame des Secours University Hospital, Postal Code 3, Byblos, Lebanon;School of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, P.O. Box 446, Jounieh, Lebanon;Psychology Department, College of Humanities, Effat University, 21478, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia;Applied Science Research Center, Applied Science Private University, Amman, Jordan;Research Department, Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Jal Eddib, Lebanon;School of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon;School of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon;College of Pharmacy, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates;The Tunisian Center of Early Intervention in Psychosis, Department of Psychiatry “Ibn Omrane”, Razi Hospital, 2010, Manouba, Tunisia;Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, Tunis El Manar University, Tunis, Tunisia;

关键词: ARFID;    NIAS;    Picky eating;    Fear;    Appetite;    Psychometric properties;    Arabic;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40337-023-00874-0

 received in 2023-05-09, accepted in 2023-08-20,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundNo epidemiological data is yet available on Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) in Arab countries, which may in part be due to the lack of measures available in Arabic language. This constitutes a major obstacle to further progress of our understanding of the nature, aetiology, course, treatment, and prevention of ARFID, especially as some evidence suggested that ARFID may vary across cultures and food environments. We aimed to contribute to the literature in the eating disorders field by examining the psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the Nine Item ARFID Screen (NIAS).MethodThis was a cross-sectional, web-based study. A total of 515 Lebanese community adults (mean age of 27.55 ± 10.92 years, 69.9% females) participated. The forward–backward method was adopted to translate the NIAS from English to Arabic.ResultsConfirmatory Factor Analyses provided evidence for the adequate fit indices for the three-factor model (i.e., Picky eating, Fear, and Appetite) and the 9-item version of the NIAS. An adequate reliability of the Arabic NIAS was achieved, with McDonald’s ω ranging from .75 to .90 for the total score and all three subscores. Multi-group analyses demonstrated measurement invariance by sex (males vs. females) and weight groups (underweight/healthy weight [BMI ≤ 25] vs. overweight/obese [BMI > 25]) at the configural, metric, and scalar levels. Adequate patterns of correlations between the NIAS and measures of disordered eating symptoms, psychological distress and well-being were seen. In particular, fear was significantly associated with non-ARFID disordered eating symptoms. Appetite and Picky eating, but not Fear, were inversely correlated with well-being. All three NIAS subscores and the total score were positively correlated with psychological distress.ConclusionFindings provided evidence that the Arabic NIAS is a short, valid and reliable self-report measure to screen for ARFID symptoms. In light of these findings, we recommend its use for clinical and research purposes among Arabic-speaking adults.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023