Factorial validity and measurement invariance across intelligence levels and gender of the Overexcitabilities Questionnaire-II (OEQ-II).

Abstract

The concept of overexcitability, derived from Dabrowski's theory of personality development, offers a promising approach for the study of the developmental dynamics of giftedness. The present study aimed at (a) examining the factorial structure of the Overexcitabilities Questionnaire-II scores (OEQ-II) and (b) testing measurement invariance of these scores across intelligence and gender. A sample of 641 Dutch-speaking adolescents from 11 to 15 years old, 363 girls and 278 boys, participated in this study. Results showed that a model without cross-loadings did not fit the data well (using confirmatory factor analysis), whereas a factor model in which all cross-loadings were included yielded fit statistics that were in support of the factorial structure of the OEQ-II scores (using exploratory structural equation modeling). Furthermore, our findings supported the assumption of (partial) strict measurement invariance of the OEQ-II scores across intelligence levels and across gender. Such levels of measurement invariance allow valid comparisons between factor means and factor relationships across groups. In particular, the gifted group scored significantly higher on intellectual and sensual overexcitability (OE) than the nongifted group, girls scored higher on emotional and sensual OE than boys, and boys scored higher on intellectual and psychomotor OE than girls.