Turkish Adaptation of the Food Cravings Questionnaire–Trait Short Form for Adolescents: A Validity and Reliability Study

Abstract

The aim of this methodological study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Food Cravings Questionnaire–Trait Short Form (FCQ-T-r) in an adolescent sample and to evaluate its validity and reliability. The main sample consisted of 340 adolescents aged between 10 and 17 years (M = 14.3). The language and content validity process was conducted systematically through forward translation, expert evaluation, and back-translation procedures. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on an independent pilot sample (n = 110) using the principal axis factoring method. The single-factor structure obtained from the EFA was subsequently tested through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in the main sample, excluding the pilot participants. Twenty-one participants with chronic conditions that might affect eating behavior were excluded, and CFA analyses were conducted with 319 adolescents. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value was .947, and Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (χ² = 3722.381, p < .001). EFA results indicated a single-factor structure explaining 58.2% of the total variance. CFA findings (χ²/df = 3.77; GFI = .905; AGFI = .924; NFI = .901; CFI = .922; RMSEA = .008) demonstrated acceptable model fit. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach’s α = .947). The preservation of the single-factor structure supports structural consistency with the scale's original form. The high internal consistency coefficient indicates that the items represent the measured construct homogeneously. Overall, the findings suggest that the FCQ-T-r is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing food cravings among Turkish adolescents and is suitable for research use in this population.