Validation of the Turkish Version of the YFAS 2.0 and Item-Level Insights for Short-Form Development

This study presents the first comprehensive Turkish adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (YFAS 2.0). A total of 346 adults completed an online survey including the YFAS 2.0, measures of maladaptive eating, impulsivity, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and social desirability. Translation followed established cross-cultural adaptation procedures, and psychometric analyses examined factorial structure, internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity. Food addiction (FA) prevalence was 9.3%. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original unidimensional structure of the 11 diagnostic criteria, with strong factor loadings (.73–.94) and good model fit. Internal consistency (KR-20 = .86) and test–retest reliability (ICC = .70) were adequate. FA symptoms were found correlated with related constructs, including BMI, depressive and anxiety symptoms, emotional and uncontrolled eating, and impulsivity— particularly urgency—demonstrating convergent validity. Weak but significant correlations emerged with cognitive restraint and (lack of) perseverance, whereas no meaningful associations were observed with sensation seeking or social desirability, providing evidence for discriminant validity. Item-level analysis of the short-form item set indicated largely comparable but partially shifted highest-loading items relative to the original mYFAS 2.0 configuration, suggesting possible cultural or linguistic influences on item functioning. Overall, findings indicate that the Turkish YFAS 2.0 is a valid and reliable measure for assessing addictive-like eating in non-clinical adult populations. The scale performs similarly to previously validated international versions and provides a robust instrument for future research on food addiction, emotion-related eating, and associated psychological correlates among Turkish-speaking individuals.