How Does the Elimination of Group Mean-Differences Affect Factor Score Determinacy?

Abstract

The present study investigates to what degree the common variance of the factor score predictor with the original factor, i.e., the determinacy coefficient or the validity of the factor score predictor, depends on the mean-difference between groups. When mean-differences between groups in the factor score predictor are eliminated by means of covariance analysis, regression, or group specific norms, this may reduce the covariance of the factor score predictor with the common factor. It is shown that in a one-factor model with the same group mean-difference on all observed variables, the common factor cannot be distinguished from a common factor representing the group mean-difference. It is also shown that for common factor loadings equal or larger than .60, the elimination of a d = .50 mean-difference between two groups in the factor score predictor leads to only small decreases of the determinacy coefficient. A compensation-factor k is proposed allowing for the estimation of the number of additional observed variables necessary to recover the size of the determinacy coefficient before elimination of a group mean-difference. It turns out that for factor loadings equal or larger than .60 only a few additional items are needed in order to recover the initial determinacy coefficient after the elimination of moderate or large group mean-differences.