Validation of the Greek version of the Salzburg Stress Eating Scale in adults

Abstract

BACKGROUND: It is widely known that excessive or prolonged stress in humans, can negatively affect eating behavior. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to validate the Salzburg Stress Eating Scale (SSES) in the Greek language and to examine its psychometric properties, in a sample of adults, in Greece. METHODS: An online survey was conducted. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the three-factor eating questionnaire (TFEQ) R-18 and two subscales of the Dutch Eating Behavior questionnaire (DEBQ) were used, together with the SSES. Certain sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics were also assessed. Exploratory Factor analysis (EFA), Cronbach’s α and Spearman’s rho were used. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 368 participants (51.1% women) and the mean age of the participants was 35 years. EFA indicated one factor in SSES with Eigenvalues > 1, which explained the 54.6% of total variance. The Cronbach’s Alpha was 0.920. SSES was significantly positively correlated with the subscales of the DEBQ (for the Restrained Eating subscale r = 0.147 and for the Emotional Eating subscale r = 0.615, p < 0.001) and was significantly negatively correlated with two subscales of the TEFQ (for the TFEQ1 r = – 0.233 and for the TFEQ2 r = – 0.562, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The Greek version of SSES is a reliable tool for assessing changes in eating behavior, in relation to stress.