Creation and validation of the 8-Item Brief Emotional Eating Scale (BEES-8, version 1.0) in youth and adults

Although several instruments have been developed to assess emotional eating, no measure has yet been identified that evaluates this construct based on the eight basic emotions. Assessing emotional eating is particularly important because it represents a relevant factor associated with overweight and obesity. In this context, the aim of the present study was to develop and validate the Brief Emotional Eating Scale based on the Eight Basic Emotions (BEES-8, version 1.0) in a sample of Peruvian youth and adults.

A cross-sectional psychometric study was conducted. The non-probabilistic sample consisted of 481 participants of both sexes, with a mean age of 31.72 years (SD = 12.08), recruited from Metropolitan Lima, Peru. The Brief Emotional Eating Scale (BEES-8, v1.0) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-2) were administered.

A second-order confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated an adequate model fit (CFI = 0.976, TLI = 0.962, SRMR = 0.029, RMSEA = 0.076). Furthermore, BEES-8 (v1.0) scores showed a positive and statistically significant correlation with generalized anxiety (r = 0.449, p < 0.001), providing evidence of validity based on relationships with other variables. Finally, the scale demonstrated adequate overall reliability (ω = 0.919).

The BEES-8 (v1.0) demonstrated adequate evidence of validity and reliability for assessing emotional eating based on the eight basic emotions. It constitutes a potentially useful tool for research and for the study of eating behaviors associated with emotional states, as well as variables related to overweight, obesity, and emotional regulation.