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Psychometric properties and gender invariance of the simplified Chinese version of Night Eating Questionnaire in a large sample of mainland Chinese college students

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Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ) is the most frequently used instrument for assessing night eating syndrome (NES), and it has been translated to many languages, including a traditional Chinese version in Taiwan. However, significant differences exist in the social, linguistic, and cultural contexts between mainland China and Taiwan. For its use in mainland China, a simplified Chinese version is needed and its psychometric properties should be further evaluated. Thus, the current study aimed to obtain a simplified Chinese NEQ (SC-NEQ) and validate its psychometric properties.

Methods

According to standard procedures, the SC-NEQ was obtained by language transformation from the traditional Chinese version of NEQ. The SC-NEQ was then administered to 1273 mainland Chinese college students recruited from three provinces in mainland China.

Results

The four-factor structure of the original English NEQ (morning anorexia, evening hyperphagia, mood/sleep, and nocturnal ingestions) was confirmed in the current sample. Moreover, a second-order model also fitted the data well. The SC-NEQ showed good reliability with a Cronbach’s alpha and omega of 0.70 and 0.83, respectively. The total score of the SC-NEQ was significantly and moderately correlated with eating pathology (r = .35, p < .01). Strong measurement invariance across gender groups was also supported.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that the SC-NEQ can be a useful tool to assess NES in mainland China.

Level of evidence

V, descriptive (cross-sectional) study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

    Jinbo He

  2. Hunan University, Hunan, China

    Jinbo He

  3. University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Feng Ji

  4. University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    Xiaoya Zhang

  5. Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), Guangdong, China

    Xitao Fan

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  1. Jinbo He
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  2. Feng Ji
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  3. Xiaoya Zhang
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  4. Xitao Fan
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Correspondence to Jinbo He.

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The study protocol was approved by the research office in Hunan Institute of Technology that is responsible for research ethics, and all procedures in this study were in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and later amendments.

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Written consent forms were obtained from all participants.

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This article is part of the topical collection on Sleep and Obesity.

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He, J., Ji, F., Zhang, X. et al. Psychometric properties and gender invariance of the simplified Chinese version of Night Eating Questionnaire in a large sample of mainland Chinese college students. Eat Weight Disord 24, 57–66 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-018-0553-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-018-0553-7

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