It is a self-report scale consisting of 40 items answered on a 6-point Likert scale (Always, Very often, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never). It was developed by Garner and Garfinkel to identify adolescents with eating disorders and to measure the symptoms of anorexia nervosa and was adapted into Turkish by Savaşır and Erol. The cut-off point is 30 points. For items 1, 18, 19, 23, 27, 39, sometimes 1 point, rarely 2 points and never 3 points and other options are evaluated as 0 points. For the other items of the scale, always 3 points, very often 2 points and often 1 point and other options are calculated as 0 points. As a result, the total score of the scale is obtained by summing the scores obtained from each item of the scale. In the current study, according to the evaluation scale of the YTT-40, people with a score of "≥30" were characterized as "prone to eating behavior disorder".
The validity and reliability study of the YTT-40 in Turkey was conducted by Savaşır and Erol. Savaşır and Erol found the reliability coefficient of the test, which they repeated at one-month intervals, to be 0.65 and the internal consistency calculated by Cronbach's alpha to be 0.70. Factor analysis of the scale revealed 4 interpretable factors including anxiety about fat formation, diet behavior, social stress and obsession with thinness. In Batur's study, the Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient of the scale was found between 0.47-0.90 in female students and 0.34-0.80 in male students.
Reference:
Garner DM, Garfinkel PE. The Eating Attitudes Test: an index of the symptoms of anorexia nervosa. Psychol Med. 1979; 9: 273-279
Savasir, I. and Erol, N. (1989). Anorexia Neurosis Symptoms Index. Turkish Journal of Psychology, 7, 19-25.