Reliability and Validity of the Japanese version of the Craving Experience Questionnaire for food

The Craving Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) measures the cognitive aspects of craving in terms of intensity and frequency. This study developed a Japanese version of the CEQ and examined its reliability and validity for food craving. A total of 297 adults rated the strength (i.e., intensity) and frequency scales of the CEQ and related scales using a web-based survey. Confirmatory factor analyses for the strength and frequency scales of the CEQ supported the same three-factor model as the original version of the CEQ. Furthermore, the validity of the frequency scale was supported by its correlations with diet-related constructs. Meanwhile, the validity of the strength scale was indicated by the fact that craving intensity increased after a craving induction procedure. Then, three weeks after the initial measurement, we examined the test-retest reliability for each subscale of the frequency scale of the CEQ, and the results indicated good intraclass correlation coefficients. Thus, this study suggests that the Japanese version of the CEQ is a valid and sufficiently reliable measure of food craving, although there are some issues.