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Research Article: Cultural adaptation and validation of the SESMEB scale for assessing the influence of social media on the eating habits of adolescents in the city of Doboj, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Date Published: 2026-10-07

Abstract:
Marketing of foods high in fat, sugar and salt shapes the food preferences and intake of children and adolescents. The primary aim of this study was to culturally adapt and validate the Scale of Effects of Social Media on Eating Behavior (SESMEB) for assessing the influence of social media on the eating habits of adolescents in the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to examine whether this influence differs by sex, place of residence, nutritional status and school attended. A cross-sectional study was conducted in six secondary schools in the city of Doboj in May 2023 and included 362 adolescents attending the third and fourth grades. The SESMEB scale was cross-culturally adapted into Serbian through forward and back-translation, expert panel review and pre-testing. Internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha and corrected item-total correlations, the factor structure by exploratory factor analysis, and test–retest reproducibility in a subsample of 14 respondents by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Group differences were tested by t -test and ANOVA. The adapted scale showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha?=?0.865), with corrected item-total correlations from 0.346 to 0.638; the data were suitable for factor analysis (KMO?=?0.857; Bartlett’s test ? 2 (153)?=?2312.380; p <?0.001). Exploratory factor analysis identified three subscales accounting for 51.5% of the variance, which could not be clearly separated. Test–retest analysis showed no significant difference between administrations ( t =?0.552; p =?0.591; ICC?>?0.7). Mean scores for all 18 items denoted no perceived influence, with 55.0–76.8% of respondents reporting no effect on their food-related attitudes and practices. Girls scored higher than boys for following nutrition-related content ( p <?0.05) and for the increase in the desire to eat ( p =?0.048); differences also emerged by place of residence ( p =?0.041) and school attended ( p =?0.008; p =?0.004). Adopted version of the SESMEB scale is a reliable instrument for assessing the perceived effects of social media on adolescent eating behavior. Most respondents reported no such influence, even though this population is intensively exposed to digital marketing of energy-dense products, suggesting that self-report may underestimate the actual effect of that exposure.

Introduction:
Marketing of foods high in fat, sugar and salt shapes the food preferences and intake of children and adolescents. The primary aim of this study was to culturally adapt and validate the Scale of Effects of Social Media on Eating Behavior (SESMEB) for assessing the influence of social media on the eating habits of adolescents in the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to examine whether this influence differs by sex, place of residence, nutritional status and school attended.

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