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Cited by 170Eating Disorders and BehaviorsNutrition, Health and Food BehaviorObesity, Physical Activity, Diet

Emotional Appetite Questionnaire. Construct validity and relationship with BMI

Open access
Nolan, Laurence J., Halperin, Lindsay B., Geliebter, Allan·2010·Appetite
DOI 10.1016/j.appet.2009.12.004PMC PMC3835339
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Abstract

The Emotional Appetite Questionnaire (EMAQ) comprises ratings of tendency to eat in response to both positive and negative, emotions and situations. To assess construct validity, the responses of 232 male and female participants to the EMAQ subscales were correlated with the subscales of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ), which has been extensively validated. In addition, the EMAQ scores were correlated with BMI. Convergent validity was demonstrated by a significant positive correlation between the negative emotions and situations scores of the EMAQ and the emotional eating subscale score of the DEBQ (DEBQ-E). Moreover, discriminant validity was demonstrated by low correlations of EMAQ positive emotions and situations scores with the DEBQ-E score. For the study sample, the EMAQ negative scores were significantly positively correlated with BMI, and the EMAQ positive scores were significantly inversely correlated with BMI. As BMI increased so did reported negative emotional and situational eating whereas as BMI decreased, reported positive emotional and situational eating increased. Although causality cannot be inferred from correlations, eating more under negative emotions may contribute to being overweight whereas eating less may contribute to being underweight. The EMAQ was shown to have construct validity, and emotional eating was significantly correlated with BMI.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.appet.2009.12.004

Cites

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

0 of 30 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

  • Findingown data

    The EMAQ negative emotion score correlates with BMI more strongly than the DEBQ emotional eating subscale does.

    “that correlation coefficient was significantly lower than that for the correlation between EMAQ-NE and BMI, Hotelling's t(226) = 1.94, p = 0.03”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    There are no sex differences on EMAQ negative emotion subscores.

    “There were no sex differences on negative emotion subscores.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Findingown data

    EMAQ negative emotion and negative situation scores are positively correlated with the DEBQ emotional eating subscale score.

    “Convergent validity was demonstrated by a significant positive correlation between the negative emotions and situations scores of the EMAQ and the emotional eating subscale score of the DEBQ (DEBQ-E).”
    • Also stated in: § Correlations between EMAQ and DEBQ · hedged
      “A highly significant positive correlation was found between EMAQ-NE and EMAQ-NS and DEBQ-E suggesting they measure the same construct (convergent validity).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    The DEBQ emotional eating subscale score is not significantly correlated with BMI.

    “In contrast, DEBQ-E was not significantly correlated with BMI”
    • Also stated in: § Discussion · plain
      “Although the negative EMAQ subscales were significantly correlated with BMI, the emotional eating subscale of the DEBQ was not.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    DEBQ external eating correlates more strongly with DEBQ emotional eating than with the EMAQ negative situation score.

    “Hotelling's t-tests revealed that DEBQ-X was more strongly correlated with DEBQ-E than with EMAQ-NS, t(229) = 4.73, p < .0001.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • May combine two claims. 20
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 3
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 16

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Men have higher EMAQ positive situation and positive emotion eating ratings than women.

    “men had higher ratings than women (see Table 2).”
    • Also stated in: § MANOVA for sex groups · plain
      “there was a sex difference in eating tendency for EMAQ-PS, F(1,228) = 11.53, p = 0.001,and EMAQ-PE,F(1,228) = 10.74,p = 0.001:men had higher ratings than women”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The sample was largely Caucasian and young college students.

    “The sample represents a largely Caucasian and young college student population although an effort was made to include faculty and staff.”
    • Also stated in: § Participants · plain
      “Racial/ethnic composition for the sample (among the 226 who reported) was 1.7% Asian, 2.2% Black, 6.0% Hispanic, 84.5% White, and 2.6% mixed race.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The correlations between BMI and EMAQ are low, accounting for only a small proportion of the variance.

    “Finally, while significant, the correlations between BMI and EMAQ are low, accounting for only a small proportion of the variance.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims. The quote only partly states this claim.

    Findingown data

    EMAQ negative emotion and negative situation scores are positively correlated with BMI.

    “For the study sample, the EMAQ negative scores were significantly positively correlated with BMI”
    • Also stated in: § Correlations with BMI · plain
      “Both negative emotion EMAQ scores were significantly positively correlated with BMI.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Women score higher than men on DEBQ restrained eating and DEBQ emotional eating.

    “Women scored higher on DEBQ-R, F(1,228) = 45.32, p < 0.001, and DEBQ-E, F(1,228) = 14.93, p < 0.001, than did men”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims. The quote only partly states this claim.

    Findingown data

    EMAQ positive emotion and positive situation scores are inversely correlated with BMI.

    “the EMAQ positive scores were significantly inversely correlated with BMI.”
    • Also stated in: § Correlations with BMI · plain
      “the correlations between positive EMAQ scores and BMI were negative and significant.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • The quote only partly states this claim.

    Findingown data

    EMAQ positive emotion and positive situation scores are weakly inversely correlated with the DEBQ emotional eating subscale score.

    “Moreover, discriminant validity was demonstrated by low correlations of EMAQ positive emotions and situations scores with the DEBQ-E score.”
    • Also stated in: § Correlations between EMAQ and DEBQ · plain
      “Both of the EMAQ positive emotion scales were significantly and weakly inversely correlated with DEBQ-E.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The reliability coefficients of each scale are greater than the absolute correlations indicating convergence, which are greater than those indicating discriminative validity.

    “The reliability coefficients of each scale are greater than the absolute value of the correlation coefficients indicating convergence of scales (negative emotion) which, in turn, are greater than those indicating discriminative validity (positive emotion).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The reliability coefficient for DEBQ-E is greater than its correlations with EMAQ-NE and EMAQ-NS, which are greater than its correlations with EMAQ-PE and EMAQ-PS.

    “Critically, in the DEBQ-E column, the reliability coefficient for the DEBQ-E (0.94) is greater than its correlations with the EMAQ-NE and EMAQ-NS (0.58 and 0.43 respectively) which are in turn greater than its correlations with the EMAQ-PE and EMAQ-PS (.22 and .17 respectively).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    The EMAQ negative subscales predict BMI while the DEBQ emotional eating subscale does not.

    “while both are measures of negative emotions, the negative EMAQ subscales predicted BMI while the emotional eating subscale of the DEBQ did not.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The EMAQ has high test-retest reliability and internal consistency.

    “The EMAQ has demonstrated high test-retest reliability (r coefficients ranged from .71 to .95) with Cronbach's α of .78 and .75 for EMAQ-NE and EMAQ-PE and .65 and .57 for EMAQ-NS and EMAQ-PS respectively (Geliebter & Aversa, 2003).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Geliebter & Aversa, 2003 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    The EMAQ demonstrates construct validity, including convergent and discriminant validity.

    “The EMAQ was shown to have construct validity, and emotional eating was significantly correlated with BMI.”
    • Also stated in: § Discussion · hedged
      “The results indicated good construct validity for the EMAQ overall, based on comparison with the more established DEBQ.”
    • Also stated in: § Discussion · boosted
      “two components of construct validity were demonstrated for the EMAQ, a relatively new scale to assess emotional eating, by comparison with the better validated DEBQ: (1) convergent construct validity and (2) discriminative construct validity.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Emotional eating is generally viewed as a response to negative emotion.

    “Emotional eating is generally viewed as a response to negative emotion (Lindeman & Stark, 2001), ego-threat (Wallis & Hetherington, 2004), or distress (van Strien & Ouwens, 2007).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Lindeman & Stark, 2001

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Wallis & Hetherington, 2004

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites van Strien & Ouwens, 2007

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Geliebter and Aversa found that overweight participants reported eating more in response to negative emotions, underweight participants reported eating less, and underweight participants reported eating more in response to positive emotions.

    “They also found that compared to their usual eating habits, overweight participants reported eating more in response to negative emotions while underweight participants reported eating less. Underweight participants also reported eating more in response to positive emotions.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Geliebter & Aversa, 2003 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    DEBQ emotional eating correlates with DEBQ restrained and external eating, while DEBQ restrained eating does not correlate with DEBQ external eating.

    “DEBQ-E has been consistently found to be correlated with DEBQ-R and DEBQ-X while DEBQ-R has not been found to be correlated with DEBQ-X (van Strienet al., 1986; van Strien, 1996; Wardle, 1987).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites van Strien et al., 1986 source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites van Strien, 1996 source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Wardle, 1987 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The DEBQ has high reliability and validity.

    “the DEBQ, a widely used instrument with high reliability and validity (van Strien et al., 1986; Wardle, 1987)”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites van Strien et al., 1986 source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Wardle, 1987 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Premisenone given

    The EMAQ has not yet been adequately validated.

    “However, the EMAQ has not yet been adequately validated.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Emotional eating has been associated with overeating, binge eating, bulimia nervosa, and obesity.

    “Emotional eating has been associated with overeating, binge eating, bulimia nervosa, and obesity (see Lindeman & Stark, 2001 for review).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Lindeman & Stark, 2001

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Geliebter and Aversa developed the EMAQ and showed it to be reliable and internally consistent.

    “Geliebter and Aversa (2003) developed the Emotional Appetite Questionnaire (EMAQ) and showed it to be reliable and internally consistent.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Geliebter & Aversa, 2003 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductreasoning

    The questionnaires were administered in the afternoon between 13:00 and 18:00 on a weekday to provide consistency in timing.

    “The questionnaires were administered in the afternoon between 13:00 and 18:00 on a weekday to provide some consistency in timing.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The EMAQ is more inclusive of emotional eating because it includes positive emotions and situational questions.

    “By including positive emotions and situational questions, EMAQ is more inclusive of emotional eating.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    The sample represents a group at relatively high risk for disordered eating.

    “However, the sample does represent a group that is at relatively high risk for disordered eating (Mintz, O'Halloran, Mulholland, & Schneider, 1997).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Mintz, O'Halloran, Mulholland, & Schneider, 1997

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Men experienced an increase in appetite after a joy-inducing film but not after films that induced negative emotion.

    “The increased eating by men during positive emotion states is consistent with the finding that men experienced an increase in appetite after a joyinducing film but not after films that induced negative emotion (Macht et al., 2002).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Macht et al., 2002 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductown data

    The study was approved by the Wagner College Human Experimentation Review Board.

    “Procedures and consent forms were approved by the Wagner College Human Experimentation Review Board.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Emotional eating has been associated with obesity.

    “Emotional eating has been associated with obesity (Faith, Allison, & Geliebter, 1997)”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Faith, Allison, & Geliebter, 1997

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    The sample's proportion with BMI greater than 25 is comparable to college students elsewhere in the US.

    “Overall, 24.1% of participants had a BMI greater than 25, which is comparable to college students elsewhere in the US (Huang et al., 2003).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Huang et al., 2003 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductcitation

    A Bonferroni correction was not used because the study was not testing a universal null hypothesis and the increase in Type II error was deemed excessive.

    “A Bonferroni correction for the correlations was not used as we were not testing a universal null hypothesis (i.e., we had separate hypotheses for EMAQ relationships with DEBQ and BMI), and the related increase in Type II error probability was deemed excessive (Perneger, 1998).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Perneger, 1998 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Cools et al. suggest level of arousal is more important than valence.

    “However, Cools et al. (1992) suggest level of arousal is more important than valence.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Cools et al., 1992 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The difference between the current null DEBQ-E-BMI correlation and van Strien et al. (1985) may be due to the presence of men in our sample.

    “This difference may be due to the presence of men in our sample (their sample was women only).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductown data

    The Spearman rho coefficient was used for correlations because most variables were skewed.

    “The variables were tested for normality, and most were found to be skewed. Thus, the Spearman rho coefficient was used for correlations.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Macht (1999) reported that BMI was positively correlated with increased eating during negative emotions, but hunger was negatively correlated with BMI when experiencing joy.

    “These findings are consistent with those of Macht (1999) who reported in a large sample of men and women that BMI was positively correlated with increased eating during negative emotions, but that hunger was negatively correlated with BMI when experiencing joy (the only positive emotion measured there).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Macht, 1999 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductnone given

    The questionnaires were administered in counterbalanced order.

    “The participants were given the EMAQ and DEBQ in counterbalanced order followed by the demographics questionnaire.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductnone given

    Participants responded individually or in small groups of up to 10, not seated next to each other, in a quiet room that afforded privacy.

    “Participants responded individually or in small groups of up to 10 (not seated next to each other) in a quiet room that afforded privacy.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
33 of 33

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Participants' self-reported questionnaire responses accurately reflect their typical eating tendencies.

    “Both the EMAQ and DEBQ were administered to each participant.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Cross-sectional correlations between EMAQ scores and BMI can indicate the EMAQ's ability to predict changes in BMI over time.

    “it suggests that the EMAQ might predict changes in BMI in those who engage in emotional eating.”
2 of 2

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Statistics recomputed

Every reported test result, recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom. A result shows as not adding up only once an independent check has confirmed it.

  • Not confirmedt(226) = 2.81reported p = .003 · recomputed p = .005

    “t(226) = 2.81, p = .003”

  • Not confirmedt(225) = 2.73reported p = .004 · recomputed p = .007

    “t(225) = 2.73, p = .004”

  • Not confirmedt(226) = 1.94reported p = .03 · recomputed p = .054

    “t(226) = 1.94, p = .03”

  • Not confirmedt(226) = 1.18reported p = .12 · recomputed p = .239

    “t(226) = 1.18, p = .12”

  • Consistentt(228) = 6.77reported p < .0001 · recomputed p < .001

    “t(228) = 6.77, p < .0001”

  • Consistentt(229) = 9.8reported p < .0001 · recomputed p < .001

    “t(229) = 9.80, p < .0001”

  • Consistentt(229) = 4.73reported p < .0001 · recomputed p < .001

    “t(229) = 4.73, p < .0001”

  • Consistentt(229) = 1.85reported p = .066 · recomputed p = .066

    “t(229) = 1.85, p = .066”

  • ConsistentF(1, 228) = 11.53reported p = .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “F(1,228) = 11.53, p = .001”

  • ConsistentF(1, 228) = 10.74reported p = .001 · recomputed p = .001

    “F(1,228) = 10.74,p = .001”

  • ConsistentF(1, 228) = 45.32reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “F(1,228) = 45.32, p < .001”

  • ConsistentF(1, 228) = 14.93reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “F(1,228) = 14.93, p < .001”

12 of 12

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Self-check results appear here once an independent check has confirmed them.

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References 31 · Cited by 170

Authors
Nolan, L. J., Halperin, L. B., & Geliebter, A.
Affiliations
  • Wagner College (US)
  • St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center (US)
Corresponding author
Nolan, Laurence J.
ORCID
Venue
Appetite
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2010-04
Volume
54
Issue
2
Pages
314-319
ISSN
0195-6663 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.appet.2009.12.004
PMC
PMC3835339
OpenAlex
W2032004627
Semantic Scholar
45e51f9d1d42b1f179a1a9b4342e44a21bf0ce33
Cited by
170
References
31
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 5
FWCI
2.12
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Appetite (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R03DK068392, R01DK074046)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
Keywords
emotional eating, construct validity, body mass index, Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire, convergent validity, discriminant validity, positive emotions, negative emotions, dietary habits, overweight, underweight
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Appetite, Eating, Emotions, Feeding Behavior, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sensitivity and Specificity, Reproducibility of Results, Body Mass Index, Young Adult

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Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

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