# Italian translation of the Nine-Item ARFID Screen (NIAS-IT) for ARFID surveillance in a dietetic service

## TL;DR

The paper introduces a validated Italian version of a questionnaire to screen for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) for use in clinical and research settings.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is the development and validation of the Italian translation of the Nine-Item ARFID Screen (NIAS-IT).

## Key findings

- The Italian version of the NIAS was found to be comprehensible and easy to read by native Italian speakers.
- The translated questionnaire is suitable for clinical and research use in the Italian population.

## Abstract

Several versions of the Nine-Item ARFID Screen (NIAS) have been developed in recent years to adapt the questionnaire to different languages and clinical samples. An Italian version is still lacking. From the perspective of a highly specialized Eating Disorder Unit in Milano, ARFID’s phenomenology may be mimicked by other peculiar dietary habits or other eating disorders. Screening for this pathological conduct is necessary to assess a correct treatment frame for potentially serious disordered feeding behavior.

Clinical experts in Psychiatry, Psychology, and Dietetics collaborated in the translation process. The whole methodology involved several steps: (I) Italian translation; (II) backward translation from Italian to English; (III) assessing the conformity between the original English and retranslated questionnaires; (IV) testing the translated version on patients; (V) evaluating the degree of comprehensibility of the translated scale.

The Italian version of the NIAS (NIAS-IT) was administered online to 23 consecutive outpatients of a Dietetic department. For the most part, the sample of Italian native speakers found the translated version of the questionnaire to be comprehensible and easy to read.

The Italian version of the NIAS is perfectly comprehensible and can be applied to the Italian population for both clinical and research purposes.

Level of Evidence: Level IV, evidence obtained from multiple time series with or without intervention.