Stability and Consistency of Factor Structure of Least Preferred Co-Worker Scale for Different Age Groups

Abstract

It was the purpose of this study to investigate the generalizability of Fiedler's (1967) least preferred co-worker scale to different age groups. The scale was administered to junior high, senior high, and college students, and the data from each age group were factor analyzed. The resulting factor structures and the factor structure from a previously reported sample of Army trainees were compared. To determine the stability of the factor structures, each of the three populations of this study were randomly split into two sub-populations, factor analyzed, and the resulting factor structures were compared. These analyses indicated that the scale yielded a single, strong, and stable factor for the junior and senior high school populations. The factor structures for the college students yielded three factors which were moderately strong and stable.