Abstract

Emotional eating is the act of consuming food in response to emotional triggers and is closely linked to health issues such as overeating and obesity. However, current emotional eating scales in Korea primarily focus on eating behaviors associated with negative emotions, neglecting the various motives behind eating, including those prompted by positive emotions. This study aimed to translate the Palatable Eating Motives Scale (PEMS; Boggiano, 2016) into Korean and to evaluate its validity and reliability for assessing the diverse motives behind the consumption of highly palatable foods within the context of emotional eating. A total of 350 Korean adults completed the Korean version of the PEMS (K-PEMS). Exploratory factor analysis identified a three-factor structure with 19 items—Coping and Reward Enhancement, Social, and Conformity—that differed from the original version. However, confirmatory factor analysis affirmed the validity of a four-factor model, and the scale exhibited good internal consistency across all items and subscales (Cronbach's α=.764~.866). The K-PEMS showed significant correlations with the existing emotional eating measure (NEIEMS) and other relevant psychological variables, supporting its convergent and criterion validity. These findings indicate that the K-PEMS is an effective tool for comprehensively assessing various aspects of emotional eating in the Korean context, laying a valuable foundation for future psychological assessments and health intervention research related to eating behaviors.