Factor structure and sex invariance of the temporal experience of pleasure scale (TEPS) in Chinese university students and clinical population

Shulin Fang,Jianghua Zhang,Fusheng Luo,Xingwei Luo,Jiayue He,Panwen Zhang,Xiaodan Huang,Xiaosheng Wang,Shuqiao Yao,Yan Xiong,Xiang Wang

doi:10.1186/s12888-021-03379-9

Abstract

BackgroundA motivation dimension of the core psychiatric symptom anhedonia additional has been suggested. The Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS) has been reported to assess anticipatory and consummatory pleasure separately in multiple factor-structure models. This study explored the factor structure of a Chinese version of the 18-item TEPS and further explored the measurement invariance of the TEPS across sex and clinical status (non-clinical, psychiatric).MethodsBest-fit factor structure of the TEPS was examined in a non-clinical cohort of 7410 undergraduates, randomized into sample 1 (N = 3755) for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and sample 2 (N = 3663) for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Additionally, serial CFA was conducted to evaluate measurement invariance across sex and between clinical (N = 313) and non-clinical (N = 341) samples.ResultsEFA supported a new four-factor structure with a motivation component, based on the original two-factor model (consummatory pleasure with/without motivation drive, anticipatory pleasure with/without motivation drive). CFA confirmed the four-factor model as the best-fit structure and revealed a second-order hierarchy in non-clinical and clinical samples. Full scalar invariance was observed across clinical and non-clinical samples and across sex in the clinical sample; only partial scalar invariance was observed across sex in the non-clinical sample.ConclusionsA four-factor structured TEPS can assess motivation-driving dimensions of anticipatory and consummatory pleasure, consistent with the recently advanced multidimensional structure of anhedonia. CFA and measurement invariance results support application of the TEPS for assessing motivation aspects of anhedonia.

Highlights

A motivation dimension of the core psychiatric symptom anhedonia additional has been suggested
This sample included 94 outpatients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD), 29 outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia, and 190 outpatients diagnosed with a personality disorders
Compared to the non-clinical Sample 4, the clinical Sample 3 had lower Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS) scores (t = 2.869, df = 603.60, p = 0.004, Cohen’s d = 0.23), which indicated that clinical sample 3 showed more serious degree of anhedonia

Summary

Introduction

A motivation dimension of the core psychiatric symptom anhedonia additional has been suggested. The Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS) has been reported to assess anticipatory and consummatory pleasure separately in multiple factor-structure models. Several scales aimed at evaluating anhedonia have been developed Some initial measurements, such as the Fawcett-Clark Pleasure Capacity Scale [6] and the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale [7], developed in the early 1980s and 1990s, respectively, treat anhedonia as a unitary construct. Research providing deeper insights into anhedonia has indicated that anhedonia should be considered as a complex, multidimensional concept with relations to multiple psychopathological processes, including processes in physical/social, consummatory/anticipatory, and motivation/ experiential dimensions [8, 9]. Scales with a focus on the physical/social dimension, including the Revised Physical Anhedonia Scale and the Revised Social Anhedonia Scale, have been used to assess anhedonia in patients with schizophrenic spectrum disorders and in other clinical samples since the 1970s [10, 11]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion