Development of the Japanese Version of the Mindful Eating Scale (MES)

要旨

Abstract In recent years, mindful eating (ME) as a psychological intervention to improve eating behavior has attracted scientific attention. ME is related to mindfulness and is defined as “a non‐judgmental awareness of physical and emotional sensations while eating or in a food‐related environment.” The major purpose of this study is to develop a Japanese version of the Mindful Eating Scale (MES) or MES‐J and examine its psychometric properties. A web‐based survey company collected data from 440 adults in Japan (mean age = 42.58 years, SD = 15.54 years). Confirmatory factor analysis performed on the MES‐J showed the highest fit of a correlated model with two method factors. Cronbach's αs of the full scale and six subscales were from .67 to .88. Moreover, a subset of the participants ( n = 206) completed the MES‐J 4 weeks after the initial testing. Results showed moderate test–retest reliability. Moreover, construct validity was supported as the full scale and subscales of the MES‐J (except for the Awareness subscale) showed a moderate positive correlation with mindfulness and small to moderate negative correlations with experiential avoidance, perfectionism, and negative body image. However, the Awareness subscale showed a small negative correlation with mindfulness and a small positive correlation with perfectionism. Our findings confirm that the MES‐J has sufficient reliability and validity, but further investigation is needed as our findings regarding Awareness tended to differ from those of the original study.

主題