Factor structure in Raven’s Progressive Matrices Plus in sub-Saharan Africa – Benin and Djibouti

Abstract

A recent meta-analysis identified factor structures in IQ-test results from non-western nations similar to those found in samples from western countries, with mostly strong loadings on a general factor. In this study, we identified the factor structure on Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices Plus (SPM+) in two samples of school children from Benin (n = 3 560) and Djibouti (n = 2 768). The SPM+ gained good overall reliabilities in both countries (Cronbach’s α = 0.87 for the total samples). However, although Raven’s Matrices are assumed by many authors as a good instrument of “g”, neither exploratory nor confirmatory factor analyses were able to identify a general factor explaining more than 30% of the total variance. In contrast, our results suggest a three or more factors solution. Doubt regarding the suitability of this test for determining intelligence in sub-Saharan African countries is caused by three factors: (i) decreasing reliability; (ii) increasing number of identified factors when including items with a higher level of difficulty; and (iii) a lack of factor congruence between the two samples.