Dimensionality of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List-Revised: A comparison of factor analytic procedures

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the factor structure of the revised Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL-R). The data from 307 undergraduate students who completed the MAACL-R were factor analyzed using both principal-components and principal-axis techniques. Based upon research with the original MAACL, two- and five-factor solutions to the MAACL-R factor structure were examined. The principal-components and principal-axis techniques yielded similar item loadings for each solution and the results of both techniques indicated the superiority of the two-factor solution. The two identified factors could be best characterized as representing independent dimensions of negative and positive affect. These findings are interpreted as providing support for the use of the MAACL-R summary scores of Dysphoria and PASS (Positive Affect and Sensation Seeking) rather than for the use of the five MAACL-R subscales.