Psychometric evaluation of the Student Authorship Questionnaire: a confirmatory factor analysis approach

This research provides new insights into the measurement of students’ authorial identity and its potential for minimising the incidence of unintentional plagiarism by providing evidence about the psychometric properties of the Student Authorship Questionnaire (SAQ). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA) are employed to investigate the measurement properties of the scales which comprise the SAQ using data collected from accounting students. The results provide limited psychometric support in favour of the factorial structure of the SAQ and raise a number of questions regarding the instrument’s robustness and generalisability across disciplines. An alternative model derived from the EFA outperforms the SAQ model with regard to its psychometric properties. Explanations for these findings are proffered and avenues for future research suggested.

Confirmatory factor analysis of the adolescent self-report strengths and difficulties questionnaire

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a widely used 25-item screening test for emotional and behavioral problems in children and adolescents. This study attempted to critically examine the factor structure of the adolescent self-report version. As part of an ongoing longitudinal cohort study, a total of 3,753 pupils completed the SDQ when aged 12. Both three- and five-factor exploratory factor analysis models were estimated. A number of deviations from the hypothesized SDQ structure were observed, including a lack of unidimensionality within particular subscales, cross-loadings, and items failing to load on any factor. Model fit of the confirmatory factor analysis model was modest, providing limited support for the hypothesized five-component structure. The analyses suggested a number of weaknesses within the component structure of the self-report SDQ, particularly in relation to the reverse-coded items.

The structure of the Statistics Anxiety Rating Scale: A confirmatory factor analysis using UK psychology students

This study aimed to examine the structure of the statistics anxiety rating scale. Responses from 650 undergraduate psychology students throughout the UK were collected through an on-line study. Based on previous research three different models were specified and estimated using confirmatory factor analysis. Fit indices were used to determine if the model fitted the data and a likelihood ratio difference test was used to determine the best fitting model. The original six factor model was the best explanation of the data. All six subscales were intercorrelated and internally consistent. It was concluded that the statistics anxiety rating scale was found to measure the six subscales it was designed to assess in a UK population.

Index of sources of stress in nursing students: a confirmatory factor analysis.

Aim. This paper is a report of a study to test the proposed factor structure of the Index of Sources of Stress in Nursing Students. Background. Research across many countries has identified a number of sources of distress in nursing students but little attempt has been made to understand and measure sources of eustress or those stressors likely to enhance performance and well-being. The Index of Sources of Stress in Nursing Students was developed to do this. Exploratory factor analysis suggested a three-factor structure, the factors being labelled: learning and teaching; placement-related and course organization. It is important, however, to subject the instrument to confirmatory factor analysis as a further test of construct validity. Method. A convenience sample of final year nursing students (n = 176) was surveyed in one university in Northern Ireland in 2007. The Index of Sources of Stress in Nursing Students, which measures sources of stress likely to contribute to distress and eustress, was completed electronically. The LISREL programme was used to carry out the confirmatory factor analysis and test the factor structure suggested in the exploratory analysis. Findings. The proposed factor structure for the items measuring ‘Uplifts’ proved to be a good fit to the data and the proposed factor structure for the items measuring ‘Hassles’ showed adequate fit. Conclusion. In nursing programmes adopting the academic model and combining university-based learning with placement experience, this instrument can be used to help identify the sources of stress or course demands that students rate as distressing and those that help them to achieve. The validity of the ISSN could be further evaluated in other education settings.

The structure of the Beck Hopelessness Scale: A confirmatory factor analysis in UK students

The aim of this paper was to confirm the factor structure of the 20-item Beck Hopelessness Scale in a non-clinical population. Previous research has highlighted a lack of clarity in its construct validity with regards to this population.

Based on previous factor analytic findings from both clinical and non-clinical studies, 13 separate confirmatory factor models were specified and estimated using LISREL 8.72 to test the one, two and three-factor models.

Psychology and medical students at Queen's University, Belfast (n = 581) completed both the BHS and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).

All models showed reasonable fit, but only one, a four-item single-factor model demonstrated a nonsignificant chi-squared statistic. These four items can be used to derive a Short-Form BHS (SBHS) in which increasing scores (0-4) corresponded with increasing scores in the BDI. The four items were also drawn from all three of Beck's proposed triad, and included both positively and negatively scored items.

This study in a UK undergraduate non-clinical population suggests that the BHS best measures a one-factor model of hopelessness. It appears that a shorter four-item scale can also measure this one-factor model. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factor structure and validity of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in a sample of mentally disordered offenders

Investigations of the factor structure of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) have produced conflicting results. The current study assessed the factor structure of the AUDIT for a group of Mentally Disordered Offenders (MDOs) and examined the pattern of scoring in specific subgroups. The sample comprised 2005 MDOs who completed a battery of tests including the AUDIT. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that a two-factor solution – alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences – provided the best data fit for AUDIT scores. A three-factor solution provided an equally good fit, but the second and third factors were highly correlated and a measure of parsimony also favoured the two-factor solution. This study provides useful information on the factor structure of the AUDIT amongst a large MDO population, while also highlighting the difficulties associated with the presence of people with mental health problems in the criminal justice system.

A closer look at Carver and White's BIS/BAS scales: Factor analysis and age group differences

The Behavioural Inhibition and Behavioural Activation System (BIS/BAS) scales were developed by Carver and White (1994) and comprise four scales which measure individual differences in personality (Gray 1982, 1991). More recent modifications, namely the five-factor model derived from Gray and McNaughton's (2000) revised Reward Sensitivity Theory (RST) suggests that Anxiety and Fear are separable components of inhibition. This study employed exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on the scales in order to test whether the four or five-factor model was the better fit in a sample of 994 participants aged 11–30 years. Consistent with RST, superior model fit was shown for the five-factor model with all variables correlated. Significant age effects were observed for BIS Fear and BIS Anxiety, with scores peaking in middle and late adolescence respectively. The BAS subscales showed differential effects of age group. Significantly increasing scores from early to mid and from mid to late adolescence were found for Drive, but the effect of age on Fun Seeking and Reward Responsiveness was not significant.

The reliability and factorial validity of the Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale in a large sample in the United Kingdom

The assessment of adolescent drinking behavior is a complex task, complicated by variability in drinking patterns, the transitory and developmental nature of the behavior and the reliance (for large scale studies) on self-report questionnaires. The Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale (Mayer & Filstead, 1979) is a 14-item screening tool designed to help to identify alcohol misusers or more problematic drinkers. The present study utilized a large sample (n = 4066) adolescents from Northern Ireland. Results of Confirmatory Factor Analyses and reliability estimates revealed that the 14-items share sufficient common variance that scores can be considered to be reliable and that the 14 items can be scored to provide a composite alcohol use score.

Alternative Factor Models and Heritability of the Short Leyton Obsessional Inventory-Children's Version

An alternative models framework was used to test three confirmatory factor analytic models for the Short Leyton Obsessional Inventory-Children's Version (Short LOI-CV) in a general population sample of 517 young adolescent twins (11-16 years). A one-factor model as implicit in current classification systems of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), a two-factor obsessions and compulsions model, and a multidimensional model corresponding to the three proposed subscales of the Short LOI-CV (labelled Obsessions/Incompleteness, Numbers/Luck and Cleanliness) were considered. The three-factor model was the only model to provide an adequate explanation of the data. Twin analyses suggested significant quantitative sex differences in heritability for both the Obsessions/Incompleteness and Numbers/Luck dimensions with these being significantly heritable in males only (heritability of 60% and 65% respectively). The correlation between the additive genetic effects for these two dimensions in males was 0.95 suggesting they largely share the same genetic risk factors.

The validity of the MacNew Quality of Life Questionnaire in heart disease.

Background A previous review suggested that the MacNew Quality of Life Questionnaire was the most appropriate disease-specific measure of health-related quality of life among people with ischaemic heart disease. However, there is ambiguity about the allocation of items to the three factors underlying the MacNew and the factor structure has not been confirmed previously among the people in the UK. Methods The MacNew Questionnaire and the SF-36 were administered to 117 newly admitted patients to a tertiary referral centre in Northern Ireland. All patients had been diagnosed with ischaemic heart disease. Results A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the factor structure of the MacNew and the model was found to be an inadequate fit of the data. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of the items suggested that a five factor solution was more appropriate and this was validated by confirmatory factor analysis. This new structure also displayed strong evidence of concurrent validity when compared to the SF-36. Conclusion We recommend that researchers should submit scores obtained from items on the MacNew to secondary analyses after being grouped according to the factor structure proposed in this paper, in order to explore further the most appropriate grouping of items.

The factor structure of the revised Illness Perceptions Questionnaire in a population of oesophageal cancer survivors

Objectives
To determine whether the proposed 7-factor structure of the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (Timeline Acute/Chronic, Timeline Cyclical, Consequences, Personal Control, Treatment Control, Illness Coherence and Emotional Representations) is appropriate among a population of oesophageal cancer survivors.
Methods
Everyone registered with the Oesophageal Patients’ Association in the UK (n=2185) was mailed a questionnaire booklet which included the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised. Responses from 587 oesophageal cancer survivors (27%) were subjected to a confirmatory factor analysis.
Results
The proposed 7 factor structure provided a reasonable fit of the data. Modification indices suggested that a significantly better fit could be provided if one of the items on the Timeline Acute/Chronic factor loaded on the Treatment Control factor and an error covariance was added between 2 other items on the Timeline Acute/Chronic factor.
Conclusions
The model fit for the 7 factor structure proposed by Moss-Morris et al. (2002) was found to be adequate in our study. However, the structure of the timeline acute/chronic factor needs to be considered, particularly when the IPQ-R is to be used among older people with a potentially life-threatening illness or those receiving palliative care.

Dimensionality, Reliability and Validity of the InterRAI Depression Rating Scale in a Canadian Palliative Care Population

A reliable and valid instrument is needed to screen for depression in palliative patients. The interRAI Depression Rating Scale (DRS) is based on seven items in the interRAI Palliative Care instrument. This study is the first to explore the dimensionality, reliability and validity of the DRS in a palliative population. Palliative home care patients (n = 5,175) residing in Ontario (Canada) were assessed with the interRAI Palliative Care instrument. Exploratory factor analysis and Mokken scale analysis were used to identify candidate conceptual models and evaluate scale homogeneity/performance. Confirmatory factor analysis compared models using standard goodness-of-fit indices. Convergent and divergent validity were investigated by examining polychoric correlations between the DRS and other items. The “known groups” test determined if the DRS meaningfully distinguished among client subgroups. The non-hierarchical two factor model showed acceptable fit with the data, and ordinal alpha coefficients of 0.83 and 0.82 were observed for the two DRS subscales. Omega hierarchical (ωh) was 0.78 for the bifactor model, with the general factor explaining three quarters of the common variance. Despite the multidimensionality evident in the factor analyses, bifactor modelling and the Mokken homogeneity coefficient (0.34) suggest that the DRS is a coherent scale that captures important information on sub-constructs of depression (e.g., somatic symptoms). Higher correlations were seen between the DRS and mood and psychosocial well-being items, and lower correlations with functional status and demographic variables. The DRS distinguished in the expected manner for known risk factors (e.g., social support, pain). The results suggest that the DRS is primarily unidimensional and reliable for use in screening for depression in palliative care patients.

The Prenatal Distress Questionnaire:An investigation of factor structure in a high risk population

Background: The Prenatal Distress Questionnaire (PDQ) is a short measure designed to assess specific worries and concerns related to pregnancy. The aim of this study was to confirm the factor structure of the PDQ in a group of pregnant women with a small for gestational age infant (< 10th centile). Methods: The first PDQ assessment for each of 337 pregnant women participating in the Prospective Observational Trial to Optimise paediatric health (PORTO) study was analysed. All women enrolled in the study were identified as having a small for gestational age foetus (< 10th centile), thus representing an 'elevated risk' group. Data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Three models of the PDQ were evaluated and compared in the current study: a theoretical uni-dimensional measurement model, a bi-dimensional model, and a three-factor model solution. Results: The three-factor model offered the best fit to the data while maintaining sound theoretical grounds(χ² (51df) = 128.52; CFI = 0.97; TLI = 0.96; RMSEA = 0.07). Factor 1 contained items reflecting concerns about birth and the baby, factor 2 concerns about physical symptoms and body image and factor 3 concerns about emotions and relationships. Conclusions: CFA confirmed that the three-factor model provided the best fit, with the items in each factor reflecting the findings of an earlier exploratory data analysis. © 2013 Society for Reproductive and Infant Psychology.

Reliability and Validity of the Child Health QuestionnairePF-50 for European Children with Cerebral Palsy

Objective: To evaluate the psychometric performance of the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ) in children with cerebral palsy (CP).
Method: 818 parents of children with CP, aged 8–12 from nine regions of Europe completed the CHQ (parent form 50 items). Functional abilities were classified using the five-level Gross Motor Function Classification Scheme (Levels I–III as ambulant; Level IV–V as nonambulant CP).
Results: Ceiling effects were observed for a number of subscales and summary scores across all Gross Motor Function Classification System levels, whilst floor effects occurred only in the physical functioning scale (Level V CP). Reliability was satisfactory overall. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed a seven-factor structure for the total sample of children with CP but with different factor structures for ambulant and nonambulant children.
Conclusion: The CHQ has limited applicability in children with CP, although with judicious use of certain domains for ambulant and nonambulant children can provide useful and comparable data about child health status for descriptive purposes.