Disordered eating is a prevalent and relevant health concern that remains understudied among U.S. military veterans. Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a newly recognized feeding and eating disorder characterized by overly restrictive eating due to (a) picky eating, (b) lack of appetite, and (c) fear of aversive consequences related to eating. The Nine-Item ARFID Screen (NIAS) is a recently developed ARFID screening tool with initial validation studies demonstrating psychometric support. However, the psychometric properties of the NIAS have not been investigated in a veteran sample. To advance our understanding of ARFID screening tools that may be appropriate for use in veterans, the present study examined the factor structure of the NIAS using survey data from a large national sample of recently separated veterans (N = 1,486). Measurement invariance across key subgroups was tested in addition to exploring differential associations between the NIAS and related constructs. Results suggested that a three-factor model provided an excellent fit of the data and demonstrated scalar invariance across self-identified men and women, race and ethnicity, and sexual and gender minority (SGM) identity. Some subgroups had higher latent means on the picky eating (women, SGM, non-Hispanic Black), appetite (women, SGM), and fear (women) factors. The NIAS had some overlap with another measure of disordered eating and was moderately correlated with psychosocial impairment and mental health. Overall, the NIAS may be a useful screening tool for ARFID in veterans, given support for the three proposed subscales and equivalence across diverse identities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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检查美国全国退伍军人样本中九项回避/限制性食物摄入障碍筛查的因子结构。


饮食失调是一个普遍且相关的健康问题，在美国退伍军人中仍未得到充分研究。回避/限制性食物摄入障碍 （ARFID） 是一种新发现的喂养和进食障碍，其特征是由于 （a） 挑食，（b） 食欲不振，以及 （c） 害怕与进食相关的厌恶后果而过度限制进食。九项 ARFID 筛查 （NIAS） 是最近开发的 ARFID 筛查工具，初步验证研究证明了心理测量支持。然而，尚未在退伍军人样本中研究 NIAS 的心理测量特性。为了加深我们对可能适用于退伍军人的 ARFID 筛查工具的理解，本研究使用来自最近分离的退伍军人 （N = 1,486） 的大型全国样本的调查数据检查了 NIAS 的因子结构。除了探索 NIAS 和相关构建体之间的差异关联外，还测试了关键亚组之间的测量不变性。结果表明，三因素模型提供了很好的数据拟合，并证明了自我认同的男性和女性、种族和民族以及性和性别少数群体 （SGM） 身份之间的标量不变性。一些亚组在挑食 （女性， SGM， non-Hispanic Black）、食欲 （women， SGM） 和恐惧 （women） 因素上具有较高的潜在均值。NIAS 与另一种饮食失调的测量方法有一些重叠，并且与社会心理障碍和心理健康呈中度相关。总体而言，鉴于支持三个拟议的分量表和不同身份之间的等效性，NIAS 可能是退伍军人 ARFID 的有用筛查工具。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 （c） 2024 APA，保留所有权利）。