Psychometric characteristics of the Night Eating Questionnaire in a Middle East population

To translate and validate the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ) into Arabic and to describe the distribution of night eating in an Egyptian sample.

The NEQ was translated into Arabic and administered to 420 university students in Cairo, Egypt. Reliability, validity, and clinical cut-scores were generated for the Arabic NEQ. Distribution and demographic information were examined.

Cronbach's alpha for the Arabic NEQ was 0.54. A first order confirmatory factor analysis yielded five factors: 1: Nocturnal Ingestions, Factor 2: Evening Hyperphagia, Factor 3: Morning Anorexia, Factor 4: Insomnia, and Factor 5: Mood. A total NEQ score of 26 was determined to be very high after T-score transformation. Of the students, 4.8% scored above this cut score, and no differences for total NEQ score were found for demographic variables.

The Arabic NEQ generated a lower internal consistency score as compared to previous translations, but a similar factor structure. A cut score of 26 is similar to that determined significant for screening purposes in the original English version, and the proportion of those scoring above it is also similar to those of several international community samples. More research is needed to characterize night eating syndrome, its symptoms, and clinical impact in the Arabic culture.