Validity and reliability study of the Turkish version of the Salzburg Stress Eating Scale for children and adolescents

Stress changes the food preferences of individuals, causing an increase in the intake of sweet food, and consequently, the total energy. Stress also leads to a short-term reduction in the appetite. These two contrary scenarios result in nutritional problems in the affected population. In this context, a validity and reliability study was conducted for the Salzburg Stress Eating Scale (SSES) adapted for children and adolescents and presented here. The study was designed as a methodological, descriptive, and correlational study, conducted with 9-18-year-old students (n = 257). A socio-demographic information form and the SSES were used for data collection. The collected data were evaluated based on factor analysis, discriminatory power, McDonald's omega, Cronbach's alpha, and the item-total score. The contribution of the ten-item scale to total variance was determined to be 48.869%. The factor loadings of the scale determined based on the exploratory factor analysis and the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were above 0.30. The fit indices were found to be well matched and the questionnaire had a one-factor structure. The McDonald's omega and Cronbach's alpha values determined for the scale were 0.884 and 0.881, respectively. The correlation analysis of the items with the scale's total score revealed values ranging between 0.470 and 0.757. Accordingly, it was concluded that the SSES was a valid and reliable measurement tool for Turkish-speaking students in the 9-18 age group. Therefore, the SSES is applicable for the assessment of stress eating among children and adolescents aged 9-18 in the general population. It is recommended to adapt the scale in different cultures to determine the level of direct stress eating in children and adolescents and the affecting factors.