Validation of the food craving Acceptance and action questionnaire (FAAQ) in a weight loss-seeking sample

Abstract

OBJECTIVE\nThe Food Craving Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (FAAQ) was developed to measure psychological flexibility around food-related internal experiences (e.g., thoughts, feelings, and urges) and has two subscales, acceptance and willingness. However, the FAAQ factor structure has not yet been systematically validated with a clinically relevant sample.\n\n\nMETHODS\nTwo weight-loss treatment seeking samples (total N\u202f=\u202f462; 80.4% female) ages 18 to 70 (M\u202f=\u202f52.6, SD\u202f=\u202f9.8) completed the FAAQ before and after group-based treatment of overweight or obesity.\n\n\nRESULTS\nConfirmatory factor analysis on the FAAQ s previously observed two-factor model produced poor model fit. An alternative 7-item model removing specific items that contributed to poor fit and were conceptually relevant to remove provided good model fit. The resulting revised 7-item FAAQ (items 1,3,6 removed) had adequate internal consistency and significant predictive validity for the Total score and subscales, and showed initial construct validity for the Total score.\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\nResults from this study suggest researchers and clinicians should now use the 7-item FAAQ-II, which retains the Willingness and Acceptance subscales. Future research is needed with other relevant samples to confirm the FAAQ-II s factor structure and psychometric properties.