Psychometric Evaluation of the Italian Mukbang Addiction Scale

Abstract Problematic mukbang use is a new area of research, and psychometric instruments are needed for cross-cultural comparisons. The Mukbang Addiction Scale (MAS) is a psychometric instrument that was developed to assess problematic mukbang watching. Therefore, the present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Italian Mukbang Addiction Scale (MAS) among Italian adults from the general population who had engaged in mukbang watching. The study (i) assessed the factorial structure of the MAS using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), (ii) determined the composite reliability through Cronbach alpha and McDonald’s omega, and (iii) tested convergent and discriminant validity. A total of 201 mukbang watchers with a mean age of 29.90 years (SD ± 10.10) participated in an online survey. The survey items included demographic variables, as well as psychometric instruments assessing problematic mukbang use (MAS), problematic social media use (Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale), loneliness (Three-Item UCLA Loneliness Scale), mental well-being (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale), and psychological distress (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21). The results demonstrated that the Italian MAS exhibited good internal consistency (McDonald’s ω = 0.89, Cronbach’s α = 0.89). The CFA provided evidence to support the one-factor structure of the scale. There was a significant and positive correlation between MAS scores and scores for (i) psychological distress, (ii) loneliness, and (iii) problematic social media use. There was a significant and negative correlation between MAS scores for mental well-being. These findings indicated adequate convergent and discriminant validity and supported the construct validity of the Italian MAS. The present study provides evidence supporting the reliability and validity of the Italian MAS for assessing problematic mukbang watching. Although further validation is required to corroborate the present findings, the MAS can be utilized by researchers and practitioners from different health fields to understand this growing phenomenon.