Itsar Bolo Rangka, Nur Hidayah, Fattah Hanurawan, Nur Eva, M. Muslihati, Bambang Sumintono, Quan Zhang
The Foodie Index (TFI) has been extensively validated in the Global North, but evidence from the Global South remains limited. This raises questions about whether food enjoyment and involvement are expressed similarly across cultures. We conducted two complementary studies. Study 1 (n = 617; M = 34.55, SD = 14.24) translated and psychometrically evaluated an Indonesian TFI (ID-TFI). Results showed strong internal consistency and adequate Rasch measurement properties. However, Item 1 (“I like food”) exhibited a low factor loading, an AVE below the threshold, and substantial differential item functioning, leading to its removal. The resulting 11-item ID-TFI exhibited item-level properties more characteristic of a food-involvement measure than of a general food-liking measure. Using the adapted scale, Study 2 examined response heterogeneity among 2980 participants (M = 37.30, SD = 15.22) via the Rasch Rating Scale Tree in a large convenience sample drawn from across Indonesia. Findings indicate that enjoyment and interest are the most inclusive and least resource-demanding domains of food involvement, whereas items reflecting sustained investment of time, money, and knowledge were endorsed primarily by the foodie group. We identified gender, age, and food neophobia as highly stable sources of heterogeneity. Conversely, economic status was a context-dependent modifier, shifting endorsement thresholds only for monetary-investment items. Overall, the 11-item ID-TFI provides a structurally coherent and internally consistent measure of food enjoyment and involvement for research purposes in the Indonesian context; its suitability for applied uses such as consumer profiling or programme evaluation awaits criterion-related validation. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd
Universitas Negeri Malang, East Java, Indonesia; Ikatan Konselor Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia; Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia, West Java, Indonesia; Jiaxing University, Zhejiang, China; City University of Macau, Macao
