Relationships between alexithymia and food addiction: The Finnish version of Yale Food Addiction Scale and preliminary test of its psychometric properties

Abstract

BackgroundIt has long been suggested that addictive behaviors are associated with alexithymia, a personality trait characterized by difficulties in emotional awareness and expression. However, little is known about the role of alexithymia in food addiction.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between alexithymia and food addiction. As part of the study, the validity of the Finnish version of Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS-F) was also investigated.MethodsThe sample consisted of 360 parents from the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study. The structural validity of the YFAS-F was evaluated by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to explore the structure when proposed models were not supported by CFA. The associations of alexithymia as measured by the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale and food addiction were examined using regression analyses followed by structural equation modeling.ResultsHigher alexithymia was associated with more food addiction by conducting linear regression analysis (B = 0.013, p = 0.011) and structural equation modeling (β = 0.24, p < 0.001). Furthermore, a single-factor model for the 8 criteria of the YFAS-F was supported by CFA and showed acceptable internal reliability (KR-20 = 0.72), and a three-factor solution for the 20 items of the scale was suggested by EFA with good internal reliability (McDonald’s ω = 0.91 for the YFAS-F, 0.91 for component 1, 0.87 for component 2, and Spearman-Brown coefficient = 0.89 for component 3).ConclusionThe current study determined a significant relationship between alexithymia and food addiction, which suggests alexithymia as a relevant factor for food addiction and may provide clinical implications for interventions. Moreover, the YFAS-F appeared to be a valid and reliable tool to evaluate food addiction in our Finnish general population sample. Further studies on the psychometric properties of the YFAS-F in more diverse populations are recommended.

Is Interoception Deficit Linking Alexithymia and Eating Spectrum Symptoms? Study on a Non-Clinical Sample of Young Adults

“…Moreover, we found that females showed more relevant alexithymic traits than males (as detected by the TAS-20), especially in the domain of an inadequate identification of feelings. This finding is partially in line with the literature and could be explained with the more frequent occurrence of eating spectrum traits in females than in males: the 'psychopathological core' of alexithymia is characterized by a marked difficulty in emotions' identification and elaboration and by a significant interference with self-regulation processes predisposing to dysfunctional eating behaviors, such as binge-eating [38][39][40] or emotional eating [41]. However, several studies pointed out that alexithymic traits might be more frequent among males than females as a consequence of the so-called 'normative male alexithymia' [42], characterized by a deficit in processing emotions.…”

Factors increasing the risk for food addiction in Ecuadorian students

“…This suggests a parallel between FA and substance use disorders. Precisely, as indicated, FA and drug use disorders share analogous etiological variables such as impulsivity ( 85 ) and anxiety ( 30 , 86 ). This result demonstrates that high drive levels are related to higher values in FA ( 87 ).…”

Examination of The Relationship Between University Students' Alexithymia Symptoms, Personality Types and Internet Use Behaviors

“…Alexithymia, a concept first defined by Sifneos (1977), is defined as the individual's difficulty in recognizing and defining emotions both in themselves and in others, and in distinguishing between bodily sensations, emotions, and cognitions (Parker, Keefer, Taylor, & Bagby, 2008). Alexithymia is a multidimensional personality structure that includes difficulty in identifying one's emotions and distinguishing them from bodily sensations; difficulty in expressing one's emotions to others; and a utilitarian and extroverted cognitive style that does not involve emotional reactions when faced with stressful situations (Li et al, 2023;Taylor et al, 1997;2016). The concept of alexithymia, which can be found in Turkish sources with expressions such as thought slavery (Dökmen, 2000) and emotional crassness (Şahin, 1996), can also be defined as the lack of emotional awareness.…”