Developmental invariance is important for making valid inferences about child development from longitudinal data; however, it is rarely tested. We evaluated developmental and gender invariance for ...one of the most widely used measures of child mental health: the parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Using data from the large U.K. population-representative Millennium Cohort Study (N = 10,207; with data at ages 3, 5, 7, 11, 14, and 17 years), we tested configural, metric, scalar, and residual invariance in emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, prosociality, and peer problems. We found that the SDQ showed poor fit at age 3 in both males and females and at age 17 in males; however, it fit reasonably well and its scores were measurement invariant up to the residual level across gender at ages 5, 7, 11, and 14 years. Scores were also longitudinally measurement invariant across this age range up to the partial residual level. Results suggest that the parent-reported SDQ can be used to estimate developmental trajectories of emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, prosociality, and peer problems and their gender differences across the age range 5 to 14 years using a latent model. Developmental differences outside of this range may; however, partly reflect measurement differences.
The LGBT People of Color Microaggressions Scale (LGBT-PCMS) is a widely used measure of intersectional microaggression experiences among sexual and gender minority people of color. Although it is ...widely used-and increasingly used in adolescent and young adult samples-it is unknown whether the LGBT-PCMS demonstrates similar measurement properties across subgroups of sexual and gender minority youth of color (SGMYOC). Among 4142 SGMYOC (ages 13-17) we found evidence for either partial or full scalar invariance (item loadings and intercepts were generally equal) across sexual orientation, race-ethnicity, and gender identity groups for all three subscales. Specific patterns of invariance and noninvariance across groups, as well as implications for the use of the LGBT-PCMS and its subscales among SGMYOC are discussed.
Sex differences in three functions, broadly defined as executive functions: Shifting, Inhibition (anti-saccade) and Decision under Load (DUL) were examined in two highly variable samples each of ...N > 500, 16–18 and 18–50-year-olds. Mental Speed was assessed and executive functions were defined after integrating reaction-time and accuracy and after residualizing from Speed. Measurement Invariance (MI) was examined using multi-group Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Scalar/ strict MI was achieved and inter-factor correlations were statistically equivalent in the two sexes. This measurement equivalence across the sexes legitimized comparing the sexes in latent variable means, showing that men outperformed women in Inhibition and in (the somewhat older) Sample 2 only, women outperformed men in DuL and Shifting. The possibility that these latter differences reflect a particular sample makeup cannot be completely ruled out.
•In two studies (each, N > 500), measurement invariance across sexes was established.•Men slightly outperformed women in Speed and Inhibition.•Slightly older women possibly outperformed men in Shifting and Decision-under Load.
This study evaluated the dimensionality, invariance, and reliability of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale–21 (DASS-21) within and across Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Romania, Taiwan, Turkey, ...United Arab Emirates, and the United States (N = 2,580) in college student samples. We used confirmatory factor analyses to compare the fit of four different factor structures of the DASS-21: a unidimensional model, a three-correlated-factors model, a higher order model, and a bifactor model. The bifactor model, with three specific factors (depression, anxiety, and stress) and one general factor (general distress), presented the best fit within each country. We also calculated ancillary bifactor indices of model-based dimensionality of the DASS-21 and model-based reliability to further examine the validity of the composite total and subscale scores and the use of unidimensional modeling. Results suggested the DASS-21 can be used as a unidimensional scale. Finally, measurement invariance of the best fitting model was tested across countries indicating configural invariance. The traditional three-correlated-factors model presented scalar invariance across Canada, Hong Kong, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. Overall, these analyses indicate that the DASS-21 would best be used as a general score of distress rather than three separate factors of depression, anxiety, and stress, in the countries studied.
•Measurement invariance assesses the psychometric equivalence of a construct across groups.•Comparison between groups depends first on testing measurement invariance of a construct across those ...groups.•Current practices for testing and reporting measurement invariance are reviewed in 126 articles with 269 tests of invariance.•Implications for the practice of measurement invariance and areas of research need are discussed.
Measurement invariance assesses the psychometric equivalence of a construct across groups or across time. Measurement noninvariance suggests that a construct has a different structure or meaning to different groups or on different measurement occasions in the same group, and so the construct cannot be meaningfully tested or construed across groups or across time. Hence, prior to testing mean differences across groups or measurement occasions (e.g., boys and girls, pretest and posttest), or differential relations of the construct across groups, it is essential to assess the invariance of the construct. Conventions and reporting on measurement invariance are still in flux, and researchers are often left with limited understanding and inconsistent advice. Measurement invariance is tested and established in different steps. This report surveys the state of measurement invariance testing and reporting, and details the results of a literature review of studies that tested invariance. Most tests of measurement invariance include configural, metric, and scalar steps; a residual invariance step is reported for fewer tests. Alternative fit indices (AFIs) are reported as model fit criteria for the vast majority of tests; χ2 is reported as the single index in a minority of invariance tests. Reporting AFIs is associated with higher levels of achieved invariance. Partial invariance is reported for about one-third of tests. In general, sample size, number of groups compared, and model size are unrelated to the level of invariance achieved. Implications for the future of measurement invariance testing, reporting, and best practices are discussed.
Vachon and Lynam (2016) recently introduced a new measure of empathy, the Affective and Cognitive Measure of Empathy (ACME). Besides assessing the traditional dimensions of cognitive and affective ...empathy, the ACME includes an affective dissonance scale that covers "antiempathy," an important feature of the construct with prominent predictive value not included in other empathy measures. The aim of this study is to provide data on the French version of the ACME. A sample of 851 community-dwelling participants (59.4% female) completed online the ACME questionnaire along with other measures of empathy, dark and pathological personality traits, and aggression. The original ACME bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling structure (i.e., the three empathy dimensions of Cognitive, Affective Resonance, and Affective Dissonance with positive and negative wording items as method bifactors) was successfully reproduced with the French version. Furthermore, these scales displayed satisfying internal consistency coefficients, as well as good item properties according to Classical Test Theory. Convergent validity indices were also similar to those reported for the original English version, and scale scores reached full invariance across gender and proved to be partially invariant across language when comparing the present data to those from the original validation study. The French version of the ACME is well aligned with the original English version and offers a valuable alternative to French researchers and clinicians interested in measuring the various dimensions of empathy.
Public Significance Statement
This study documents factor structure, language, and gender measurement invariance, reliability, and construct validity of the French adaptation of the Affective and Cognitive Measure of Empathy (ACME-F). Results demonstrate that the French ACME is well aligned with the original English version and offers French researchers and clinicians a valuable alternative for assessing empathy.
One of the most frequently used procedures for measurement invariance testing is the multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA). Muthén and Asparouhov recently proposed a new approach to test ...for approximate rather than exact measurement invariance using Bayesian MGCFA. Approximate measurement invariance permits small differences between parameters otherwise constrained to be equal in the classical exact approach. However, extant knowledge about how results of approximate measurement invariance tests compare to the results of the exact measurement invariance test is missing. We address this gap by comparing the results of exact and approximate cross-country measurement invariance tests of a revised scale to measure human values. Several studies that measured basic human values with the Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ) reported problems of measurement noninvariance (especially scalar noninvariance) across countries. Recently Schwartz et al. proposed a refined value theory and an instrument (PVQ-5X) to measure 19 more narrowly defined values. Cieciuch et al. tested its measurement invariance properties across eight countries and established exact scalar measurement invariance for 10 of the 19 values. The current study applied the approximate measurement invariance procedure on the same data and established approximate scalar measurement invariance even for all 19 values. Thus, the first conclusion is that the approximate approach provides more encouraging results for the usefulness of the scale for cross-cultural research, although this finding needs to be generalized and validated in future research using population data. The second conclusion is that the approximate measurement invariance is more likely than the exact approach to establish measurement invariance, although further simulation studies are needed to determine more precise recommendations about how large the permissible variance of the priors may be.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) is a widely used self-report that assesses generalized anxiety disorder symptomatology. Whilst previous studies have reported good-to-excellent psychometric ...properties across different languages, it remains unclear whether GAD-7 measures the same construct across Western and non-Western countries. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the GAD-7 is measurement invariant across Western and non-Western countries and the hypothesis that a less severe GAD symptomatology can be found in non-Western countries.
The present study employed an online survey to examine the GAD-7's measurement invariance (MI) across community samples from Indonesia, Germany, and the USA (N = 2350). MI was computed using multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses with a general factor model of the GAD-7.
The general factor of the GAD-7 had good model fit and configural, metric, scalar, and residual MI across the three countries. No significant differences were found in mean scores (Indonesia, M = 1.78, SD = 0.64, Germany, M = 1.84, SD = 0.69, USA, M = 1.87, SD = 0.79; F (2, 1514) = 3.079, p = 0.046; Games-Howell post-hoc analysis, tGermany-Indonesia = 1.720, p = 0.199; tGermany-USA = 0.750, p = 0.734; tIndonesia-USA = 2.330, p = 0.053).
This study's online nature may have inflated cross-country similarities and reduced data generalizability.
The full MI demonstrates the GAD-7 captures the same GAD construct across Western and non-Western countries. Inconsistent with the previous findings GAD severity levels were similar across countries. Despite some possible reservations, the GAD-7 appears to be a culturally fair GAD measure.
•The unidimensional factorial structure of GAD-7 has residual measurement invariance across Germany, Indonesia, and the USA.•Individuals in Germany, Indonesia, and the USA may experience similar generalized anxiety symptomatology.•No difference in anxiety levels between our samples from Germany, Indonesia, and the USA.•Our finding is inconsistent with the notion that people from non-Western countries have lower anxiety than Western countries.
There has been increased interest in practical methods for integrative analysis of data from multiple studies or samples, and using factor scores to represent constructs has become a popular and ...practical alternative to latent variable models with all individual items. Although researchers are aware that scores representing the same construct should be on a similar metric across samples-namely they should be measurement invariant-for integrative data analysis, the methodological literature is unclear whether factor scores would satisfy such a requirement. In this note, we show that even when researchers successfully calibrate the latent factors to the same metric across samples, factor scores-which are estimates of the latent factors but not the factors themselves-may not be measurement invariant. Specifically, we prove that factor scores computed based on the popular regression method are generally not measurement invariant. Surprisingly, such scores can be noninvariant even when the items are invariant. We also demonstrate that our conclusions generalize to similar shrinkage scores in item response models for discrete items, namely the expected a posteriori scores and the maximum a posteriori scores. Researchers should be cautious in directly using factor scores for cross-sample analyses, even when such scores are obtained from measurement models that account for noninvariance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
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