Psychometric properties of the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ) in a clinical sample of Turkish adolescents

This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ) in an adolescent clinical sample. The sample consisted of 267 adolescents aged 13–17 years (64.8% girls; mean age = 15.23 ± 1.29 years) recruited from child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinics of two university hospitals in Türkiye. The NEQ, Eating Attitudes Test–26 (EAT-26), Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale – Child Version (RCADS-CV), and Sleep Quality Scale and Sleep Variables Questionnaire (SQS-SVQ) were administered. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), internal consistency, and convergent validity were examined. EFA identified a four-factor structure accounting for 62.39% of the total variance, consistent with the original factor solution. CFA supported the four-factor structure of the NEQ (CMIN/df = 1.606, RMSEA = 0.048, CFI = 0.964, TLI = 0.951), consisting of nocturnal ingestions, evening hyperphagia, morning anorexia, and mood/sleep disturbances. Internal consistency was acceptable for the total scale (Cronbach’s α = 0.73). The NEQ demonstrated meaningful convergent validity through significant positive correlations with sleep quality, anxiety, depression, and disordered eating attitudes. Adolescents in the overweight group reported significantly higher NEQ total scores, particularly on the evening hyperphagia and mood/sleep disturbances subscales. Girls showed higher scores on morning anorexia and mood/sleep disturbances compared with boys. The Turkish NEQ demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties in an adolescent clinical sample and appears to be a valid and reliable instrument for assessing night eating symptoms in Turkish adolescent clinical populations. Night Eating Syndrome (NES) is a condition in which people eat a large portion of their daily food late in the evening or during the night. To better understand and identify these behaviors, researchers often use questionnaires that measure the severity of night eating symptoms. In this study, we examined whether the Turkish version of the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ) is a reliable and useful tool for assessing night eating behaviors in adolescents. A total of 267 adolescents aged 13–17 years who were receiving care at child and adolescent psychiatry clinics participated in the study. They completed the NEQ along with several questionnaires about eating habits, sleep quality, and emotional well-being. Our findings showed that the Turkish NEQ works well in adolescents and can reliably measure different aspects of night eating, such as eating during the night, eating large amounts in the evening, loss of appetite in the morning, and sleep or mood-related difficulties. We also found that adolescents with higher body weight tended to report more severe night eating symptoms, and girls reported more sleep- and mood-related symptoms than boys. These results suggest that the NEQ can help clinicians identify night eating symptoms in adolescents and may support earlier recognition of eating-related problems in young people.