Reliability and validity of the modified Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (mYFAS 2.0) in a sample of individuals with depressive disorders

Abstract

Food addiction (FA) is strongly associated with depressive symptoms. The reliability and validity of the Modified Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (mYFAS 2.0) were not previously determined in clinical samples in Brazil. This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the mYFAS 2.0 in adult individuals with depressive disorders. The data stems from a survey investigating FA in a convenience sample of subjects diagnosed with a depressive disorder. Participants answered mYFAS 2.0 and scales for binge eating, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and alcohol and nicotine use. Height and weight were measured to calculate the Body Mass Index (BMI). We evaluated the factor structure, reliability, convergent, discriminant, criterion, and incremental validity. The sample encompassed 303 participants with a mean age of 37.03 ± 11.72 years, 84.16% of whom were women. The Cronbach’s alpha for the mYFAS 2.0 was satisfactory (alpha = 0.915). The best goodness-of-fit model was a single factor, and mYFAS 2.0 showed convergent validity with binge eating and discriminant validity with the alcohol and nicotine use measures. Food addiction presented a weak positive correlation with depressive and anxiety symptoms and BMI. Three food addiction symptoms provided the best balance between sensitivity (80.95%) and specificity (74.81%). Incremental validity over binge eating symptoms was confirmed (t = 4.040, β = 0.681, p < 0.001). The Brazilian mYFAS 2.0 performed satisfactorily in this clinical sample of participants with a depressive disorder. These findings suggest it may be a brief, useful, and valid food addiction screening tool for this group. Food addiction is a dysfunctional consumption of energetically dense, hyper-palatable, and ultra-processed foods that may lead to addictive behaviors. It is associated with mental disorders such as eating, mood, and anxiety disorders, which negatively impact the quality of life for individuals affected. Therefore, healthcare providers need to assess food addiction. The Modified Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (mYFAS 2.0) is a brief instrument consisting of 13 questions developed to assess FA. Although it was previously adapted for Brazilian Portuguese in a non-clinical sample, this is the first study in Brazil to investigate this tool in a psychiatric sample. The main aim of our study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the mYFAS 2.0 in individuals with a Depressive Disorder. The results suggested that mYFAS 2.0 had satisfactory psychometric properties in this sample, and it may be a brief, useful, and valid scale to screen food addiction in individuals with depressive states.