title: The Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ): psychometric properties of a measure of severity of the Night Eating Syndrome.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ) as a measure of severity of the Night Eating Syndrome (NES). The 14-item NEQ assesses the behavioral and psychological symptoms of NES. The NEQ was evaluated in three samples: 1980 persons who completed the NEQ on the Internet; 81 persons diagnosed with NES; and 194 bariatric surgery candidates. Study 1, using principal components analysis, generated four factors (nocturnal ingestions, evening hyperphagia, morning anorexia, and mood/sleep) and an acceptable alpha (.70). Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that 99% of covariation among factors is accounted for by a higher-order construct. Study 2 found convergent validity of the NEQ with additional measures of night eating, disordered eating, sleep, mood, and stress. Study 3 compared scores from obese bariatric surgery candidates with and without NES and found appropriate discriminant validity of the NEQ. The NEQ appears to be an efficient, valid measure of severity for NES.
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Center for Weight and Eating Disorders, 3535 Market Street, Ste. 3021, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3309, United States. kca@mail.med.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Kelly C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Allison
authors.forename: Jennifer D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Lundgren
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: O'Reardon
authors.forename: Nicole S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Martino
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Sarwer
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Wadden
authors.forename: Ross D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Crosby
authors.forename: Scott G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Engel
authors.forename: Albert J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Stunkard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D050110:Bariatric Surgery; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006963:Hyperphagia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D020407:Internet; D018579:Patient Selection; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013577:Syndrome