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. 2023 Aug 24;11(1):144.
doi: 10.1186/s40337-023-00858-0.

Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Orthorexia Nervosa Inventory (ONI)

Andrea Zagaria  1 , Claudio Barbaranelli  2 , Edoardo Mocini  3 , Caterina Lombardo  2
Affiliations

Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Orthorexia Nervosa Inventory (ONI)

Andrea Zagaria et al. J Eat Disord. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is an emerging clinical condition characterized by a pathological fixation with healthy eating. Recently, the Orthorexia Nervosa Inventory (ONI) has emerged as a promising tool for assessing orthorexic tendencies and behaviours, aiming to overcome the well-established limitations of existing measures for ON. The present study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the ONI.

Methods: A total of 879 participants (Mage = 33.22 years, SD = 9.19; 56.9% females) completed the ONI along with the Düsseldorf Orthorexia Scale (DOS), measures of disordered eating, obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCD), and psychosocial impairment. To establish the factorial validity of the ONI, a competing measurement modeling approach was employed by comparing standard confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) with exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) solutions. Model-based omega coefficients were computed to examine the internal consistency of the scale. Factorial invariance tests across gender were conducted within a multi-group framework.

Results: A three-factor first-order ESEM solution provided the best and most parsimonious representation of the data: χ2(207) = 558.641, p < .001, RMSEA = 0.044 (90% CI 0.040-0.048), CFI = 0.976, TLI = 0.968, SRMR = 0.036. The three latent dimensions, labelled behaviors, emotions, and impairments, showed excellent internal consistency (ω > 0.88). Furthermore, ONI scores were found to be positively correlated with DOS scores, disordered eating, OCD symptoms, and psychosocial impairment, supporting its convergent and criterion validity. Eventually, the ONI was factorially invariant across gender.

Conclusions: Overall, the present study provides evidence for the satisfactory psychometric properties of the ONI in the Italian context, endorsing its use in both clinical and research settings.

Keywords: Eating disorders; Healthy eating; Orthorexia; Psychometric properties; Validation study.

Plain language summary

Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is a clinical condition characterized by a pathological fixation with healthy eating. The Orthorexia Nervosa Inventory (ONI) is a recently developed instrument to assess ON behaviours and tendencies. However, the scale has not yet been adapted for the Italian cultural context. To fill this gap, the present investigation aimed to translate the ONI into Italian and examine its psychometric properties on a community sample. The study involved 879 participants (Mage = 33.22 years, SD = 9.19; 56.9% females) who completed a series of self-report questionnaires. Findings revealed that the ONI items reflect three latent dimensions: behaviours and preoccupation with healthy eating; physical and psychosocial impairments; and emotional distress. Importantly, the present study accrued substantial evidence for the internal consistency and criterion validity of the scale, the latter supported by significant correlations with measures of disordered eating, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and psychosocial impairment. Overall, these findings endorse the use of the Italian version of the ONI for clinical and research practices.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

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