Turkish Adaptation of the Food Cravings Questionnaire–Trait Short Form for Adolescents: A Validity and Reliability Study

Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology, Early View

Published Online: 29 July 2026, Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.26.3.23

RESEARCH ARTICLE /ARAŞTIRMA YAZISI

Turkish Adaptation of the Food Cravings Questionnaire–Trait Short Form for Adolescents: A Validity and Reliability Study

Ergenlerde Yeme Arzusu Ölçeği Kısa Formunun Türkçe Uyarlaması: Geçerlik ve Güvenirlik Çalışması

Gülden Gökçen¹ , Zeliha Traş²

Abstract:

The aim of this methodological study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Food Cravings Questionnaire–Trait Short Form (FCQ-T-r) in an adolescent sample and to evaluate its validity and reliability. The main sample consisted of 340 adolescents aged between 10 and 17 years (M = 14.3). The language and content validity process was conducted systematically through forward translation, expert evaluation, and back-translation procedures. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on an independent pilot sample (n = 110) using the principal axis factoring method. The single-factor structure obtained from the EFA was subsequently tested through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in the main sample, excluding the pilot participants. Twenty-one participants with chronic conditions that might affect eating behavior were excluded, and CFA analyses were conducted with 319 adolescents. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value was .947, and Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (χ² = 3722.381, p < .001). EFA results indicated a single-factor structure explaining 58.2% of the total variance. CFA findings (χ²/df = 3.77; GFI = .905; AGFI = .924; NFI = .901; CFI = .922; RMSEA = .008) demonstrated acceptable model fit. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach’s α = .947). The preservation of the single-factor structure supports structural consistency with the scale’s original form. The high internal consistency coefficient indicates that the items represent the measured construct homogeneously. Overall, the findings suggest that the FCQ-T-r is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing food cravings among Turkish adolescents and is suitable for research use in this population.

Keywords: Food craving, Adolescence, Reliability, Validity, Turkish adaptation.

*This study was presented as a paper at the VII. INCES International Science, Culture & Education Congress.
¹Ministry of National Education, Mevlana Primary School, Antalya, Türkiye.

²Necmettin Erbakan University, Department of Guidance and Psychological Counseling, Konya, Türkiye.
Address of Correspondence/Yazışma Adresi: Gülden Gökçen, Düdenbaşı Neighborhood, Mevlana Primary School, Kepez/Antalya, E-mail: [email protected].

Date of Received/Geliş Tarihi: 03.11.2025, Date of Revision/Düzeltme Tarihi: 14.05.2026, Date of Acceptance/Kabul Tarihi: 15.05.2026, Date of Online Publication/Çevrimiçi Yayın Tarihi: 03.08.2026

Citing/Referans Gösterimi: Gökçen, G. & Traş, Z. (2026). Turkish adaptation of the food cravings questionnaire–trait short form for adolescents: A validity and reliability study. Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.35365/ctjpp.26.3.23

© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Cyprus Mental Health Institute / Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry and Psychology (www.ktppdergisi.com). This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/