Bifactor Model Research Articles

The assessment of the halo-effect in a questionnaire rating dimensions of coaches’ competence

ABSTRACTThe halo-effect describes the phenomenon that an individual’s general impression of a person influences how other attributes of the same person are evaluated. This phenomenon might be reflected in the finding that in a questionnaire assessing different competence dimensions of coaches, a bi-factor model (i.e., including an additional global factor besides the three competence dimensions) showed the best model fit (Strauch et al. [2023]. Erfassung der Handlungskompetenzen von Übungsleitenden. Entwicklung und Analyse der Reliabilität und Validität eines Fragebogens [Assessment of the competencies of coaches. Development and analysis of the reliability and validity of a questionnaire]. Zeitschrift für Sportpsychologie. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1026/1612-5010/a000376). Based on the stereotype content model, the purpose of the present study was to assess whether the two universal dimensions warmth and general competence may explain a significant part of this additional global factor. To this end, 222 participants (72 female; Mage = 27.38) took part in this cross-sectional study. They completed a coach competence questionnaire with the three subscales motivational, adaptive, and organisational competence. Moreover, they completed the two subscales affect and professional respect of the Leader-Member Exchange Scale to measure the universal dimensions of warmth and general competence. The results showed that a bi-factor model had the best model fit compared to (a) when the items loaded only on their corresponding factor, and (b) when all items loaded only on a global factor. Moreover, the results showed that warmth and general competence could explain more than half of the variance in this additional global factor. In summary, the results support the existence of an underlying global factor in questionnaires assessing specific dimensions of coaches’ competence, with also providing preliminary evidence that the two universal dimensions, warmth and general competence, can partly explain this factor.

Is Problematic Physical Activity (PPA) a Uni- or Multi-Dimensional Concept? A Bifactor Analysis of the Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised (EDS-R).

The study of exercise dependence, or as we prefer, problematic physical activity (PPA), faces both theoretical and methodological challenges. Different factorial solutions were obtained for the widely used Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised (EDS-R), leading us to question both its latent underlying construct and the interpretation of its factor solutions. Through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and the use of a bifactor model (BCFA), we assessed the dimensionality of a French version of the EDS-R. We recruited 745 students from Paris Nanterre University, but we removed 88 responses (16.8%) to retain only those who (a) engaged in a moderate to high levels of physical activity, according to the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ; N = 494; 9.5%), and (b) completed the EDS-R. We used a final sample of 435 students (58.4% of the total population) for a factorial analysis of the EDS-R. We conducted a three-step CFA in Mplus, producing three models: (a) unidimensional, (b) second-order, and (c) bi-factor (BCFA). The results of the BCFA indicated that most EDS-R items were better indicators of a general factor than their respective group factors, except for the second factor measuring a withdrawal construct. These results add to an ongoing debate in the field of behavioral addiction as to how to better conceptualize and measure exercise dependence or PPA. Withdrawal appears to have a special position in this debate, since our BCFA suggested that it is the only specific sub-dimension of the EDS-R scale.

Psychometrics of psychosocial behavior items under age 6years: Evidence from Nebraska, USA.

Because healthy psychosocial development in the first years of life is critical to lifelong well-being, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations are increasingly interested in monitoring psychosocial behaviors among populations of children. In response, the World Health Organization is developing the Global Scales of Early Development Psychosocial Form (GSED PF) to facilitate population-level psychosocial monitoring. Once validated, the GSED PF will be an open-access, caregiver-reported measure of children's psychosocial behaviors that is appropriate for infants and young children. This study examines the psychometric validity evidence from 45 items under consideration for inclusion in the GSED PF. Using data from N=836 Nebraskan (USA) children aged 180days to 71months, results indicate that scores from 44 of the 45 (98%) items exhibit positive evidence of validity and reliability. A bifactor model with one general factor and five specific factors best fit the data, exhibited strong reliability, and acceptable model fit. Criterion associations with known predictors of children's psychosocial behaviors were in the expected direction. These findings suggest that measurement of children's psychosocial behaviors may be feasible, at least in the United States. Data from more culturally and linguistically diverse settings is needed to assess these items for global monitoring.

Development of the scrupulosity inventory: A factor analysis and construct validity study

Background and objectivesScrupulosity, despite its considerable prevalence and morbidity, remains under-investigated. The present study develops and examines the psychometric properties of a comprehensive assessment tool, the Scrupulosity Inventory (SI). MethodsThe SI, along with other measures of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and perfectionism, were administered to a sample (N = 150) of college undergraduates similar in size to other scale development studies of related measures. We conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the SI, examined its convergent and divergent validity, and assessed its ability to predict categorical diagnoses of scrupulosity using a receiver operator characteristic analysis. ResultsWe found a well-fitting confirmatory bifactor model (RMSEA = 0.049) with a strong general Scrupulosity factor (ωHS=0.907) and specific factors for Personal Violations (ωHS=0.212), Ritualized Behavior (ωHS=0.505), Interference with Life (ωHS=0.254), and Problem Pervasiveness (ωHS=0.430). As predicted, we also found the strongest convergence (r = 0.63) between the SI and the Penn Inventory of Scrupulosity (PIOS), intermediate convergence (r = 0.54) between the SI and Perfectionism Inventory (PI), and weaker convergence (r = 0.47) between the SI and YBOCS. Finally, we found that a categorical diagnosis of scrupulosity was highly predicted by the SI (AUC = 0.84), less well-predicted by the PIOS (AUC = 0.75) and less well predicted by the YBOCS (AUC = 0.69). LimitationsThis study was conducted among a sample of undergraduates at a religiously affiliated university. ConclusionsThese results suggest utility in using the SI to measure the severity of scrupulosity symptoms and that scrupulosity and OCD may present significantly different clinical features.

Validation of the shortened 24-item multidimensional assessment of interoceptive awareness, version 2 (Brief MAIA-2)

The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) was translated into many languages and frequently used in the last decade to assess self-reported interoceptive awareness. However, many studies demonstrated weaknesses regarding unstable factor structure and poor reliability of some scales. The 24-item Brief MAIA-2 questionnaire was developed, with only three items demonstrating the highest factor loadings in each of the eight scales of the MAIA-2. The cross-sectional online study used the 37-item MAIA-2 questionnaire in a non-clinical sample of 323 people aged between 16 and 75 (M = 26.17, SD = 9.12), including 177 women (54.80%). The sample comprised 156 athletes (48.30%) and 167 non-athletes (51.70%). The Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed adequate fit indices for a multidimensional model of the Brief MAIA-2, with the original eight scales: Noticing (awareness of subtle bodily sensations, such as the heartbeat, digestive sensations, or the breath), Not Distracting (ability to maintain attention to bodily sensations without being easily distracted by external stimuli), Not Worrying (tendency to not be overly concerned or anxious about bodily sensations or changes in the body), Attention Regulation (ability to regulate attention to bodily sensations and to shift attention between internal and external stimuli), Emotional Awareness (awareness and understanding of how emotions are associated with bodily sensations), Self Regulation (ability to regulate emotional responses and manage distress through an awareness of bodily sensations), Body Listening (tendency to listen to the body for insight and understanding), and Trusting (trust in bodily sensations as a source of information about one's feelings and needs). The hierarchical bi-factor (S·I – 1) model showed even better-fit indices. Therefore, the general factor of interoception was considered in further statistical tests. Confirmatory composite analysis showed high reliability and discriminant and convergent validity for most Brief MAIA-2 scales, except Noticing. Measurement invariance was confirmed across genders (Women, Men) and sports participation (Athletes, Non-athletes). However, group differences were also found for mean scores in particular scales of the Brief MAIA-2. Men scored significantly lower than women in Not Distracting but higher in Not Worrying, Attention Regulation, Self Regulation, Trusting, and the total score of interoceptive awareness. Gender discrepancies may be influenced by linguistic socialization, which tends to categorize shifts in internal states as either physiological or emotional. Athletes scored significantly lower than Non-athletes on the Not Distracting scale, but they showed higher scores in Noticing, Attention Regulation, Emotion Awareness, Self-Regulation, Body Listening, Trusting, and the global score, suggesting that physical training can improve most areas of interoception. Therefore, physical exercises and mindfulness training may be recommended to improve interoception, especially in women and people suffering from somatic and mental problems. The Brief MAIA-2 is a reliable and valid tool to measure multidimensional interoceptive sensibility in a non-clinical population. To improve well-being and athletic performance, Brief MAIA-2 can be used to assess the body's current perception of interoception and to detect its weak areas requiring improvement. However, the study has some limitations, such as a cross-sectional online self-report survey in a conventional non-clinical sample from Poland. Future cross-cultural studies should include representative samples for non-clinical and clinical populations from different countries and geographic regions to compare the Brief MAIA-2 with more objective psychophysiological methods of measuring interoception to reduce the limitations of these studies.

Construct validity of the German version of the Emotion Reactivity Scale

BackgroundEmotional reactivity is an important construct to consider when studying mental disorders. This study was conducted to translate and assess the factor structure, construct validity and internal consistency of a German version of the Emotion Reactivity Scale (ERS), which is an originally English questionnaire assessing three components of emotional reactivity: sensitivity, intensity and persistence of emotions.MethodsThe German ERS and a range of questionnaires used to assess convergent and discriminant validity were completed by 334 German speaking Swiss participants.ResultsConfirmatory factor analysis showed strong support for a bi-factor model, with evaluation indices pointing to a unidimensional construct rather than to domain specific factors. The questionnaire showed good reliability and the factor structure was similar across gender. The ERS showed convergent validity with general psychopathology, behavioral inhibition, negative affect, orienting sensitivity, depressive symptoms and symptoms of disordered eating, and discriminant validity with behavioral activation and alcohol consumption.ConclusionsFindings support the construct validity of the German ERS and suggest that it assesses a unidimensional construct with high internal consistency. Accounting for the unidimensional nature of the scale and aiming for efficient assessment tools, future research could, based on these findings, develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a short version of the ERS.

The ephemeral nature of wording effects.

This article explores the analysis and interpretation of wording effects associated with using direct and reverse items in psychological assessment. Previous research using bifactor models has suggested a substantive nature of this effect. The present study uses mixture modeling to systematically examine an alternative hypothesis and surpass recognized limitations in the bifactor modeling approach. In preliminary supplemental Studies S1 and S2, we examined the presence of participants who exhibited wording effects and evaluated their impact on the dimensionality of Rosenberg's Self-Esteem and the Revised Life Orientation Test, confirming the ubiquity of wording effects in scales containing direct and reverse items. Then, after analyzing the data for both scales (n = 5,953), we found that, despite a significant association between wording factors (Study 1), a low proportion of participants simultaneously exhibited asymmetric responses in both scales (Study 2). Similarly, despite finding both longitudinal invariance and temporal stability of this effect in three waves (n = 3,712, Study 3), a small proportion of participants was identified with asymmetric responses over time (Study 4), reflected in lower transition parameters compared to the other patterns of profiles examined. In both cases, we illustrate how bifactor models capitalize on the responses of individuals who do not even exhibit wording effects, yielding spurious correlations suggesting a substantive nature of the wording effect. These findings support the notion of an ephemeral nature underlying wording effects. The discussion focuses on alternative hypotheses to understand these findings and emphasizes the utility of including reverse items in psychological assessment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Misbegotten methodologies and forgotten lessons from Tom Swift's electric factor analysis machine: A demonstration with competing structural models of psychopathology.

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and its bifactor models are popular in empirical investigations of the factor structure of psychological constructs. CFA offers straightforward hypothesis testing but has notable pitfalls, such as the imposition of strict assumptions (i.e., simple structure) that obscure unmodeled complexity. Due to the limitations of bifactor CFAs, they have yielded anomalous results across samples and studies that suggest model misspecification (e.g., evaporating specific factors and unexpected loadings). We propose the use of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to evaluate the structural validity of CFA solutions-either before or after the estimation of more restrictive CFA models-to (a) identify model misspecifications that may drive anomalous estimates and (b) confirm CFA models by examining whether hypothesized structures emerge with limited researcher input. We evaluated the degree to which predominant factor structures were invariant across contexts along the exploratory-confirmatory continuum and demonstrate how poor methodological choices can distort results and impede theory development. All CFA models fit well, but there were numerous differences in replicability and substantive interpretability. Several similarities emerged between bifactor CFA and EFA models, including evidence of overextraction, the collapse of specific factors onto the general factor, and subsequent shifts in how the general factor was defined. We situate these methodological shortcomings within the broader literature on structural models of psychopathology, articulate implications for theories (such as the p-factor) that are borne out of factor analysis, outline several remedies for problems encountered when performing exploratory bifactor analysis, and propose alternative specifications for confirmatory bifactor models. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Validation and Cultural Adaptation of the Motors of COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance Scale (MoVac-COVID19S) in German

Abstract: Background: Context-specific standardized psychometric instruments are essential for ensuring valid and reliable assessment of health outcomes across diverse populations to aid the advancement of research and health-related interventions. However, instruments measuring attitudes toward vaccinations are lacking in the extant literature. Therefore, we performed a cross-cultural adaptation of the Motors of COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance Scale (MoVac-COVID19S) in Germany. Method: During the months of June and July 2022, 475 individuals aged 18 years and older from the general population of Germany participated in an online cross-sectional survey. Participants responded to five demographic questions, a measure of COVID-19 vaccine uptake willingness, and the MoVac-COVID19S. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) fit indices were used to evaluate the factor structures of the MoVac-COVID19S. Results: The CFA revealed that all examined factor structures of both the 9-item and 12-item versions of the MoVac-COVID19S were acceptable among the sample. Overall, CFI, GFI, and TLI values were higher than 0.95; RMSEA and SRMR values were all less than 0.08 for all the estimated models. The one-factor model of the 9-item version of the MoVac-COVID19S exhibited best fits indices compared to the one-factor and four-factor structures of the 12-item version of the scale. The bifactor model revealed that the general factor explained a higher percentage of the Explained Common Variance (ECV; ranging from 55% to 94%) in the majority of the items, compared to the specific factors. The scale was found to demonstrate convergent validity with related measures. Conclusion: The German version of the MoVac-COVID19S should be considered a unidimensional rather than a multidimensional measure. Although the 9-item version of the scale performed better among the sample compared to the 12-item version, the overall scores of both versions were found to be valid and reliable measures of attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccinations. The MoVac-COVID19S has the potential to be adapted for assessing attitudes toward any future vaccination programs. Limitations: While our study sampled only the general German population, the criticisms of CFA warrant further research using advanced methods, such as the Rasch model, and subgroups.

Development and assessment of a composite score for overall brain pathology in the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) autopsy cohort

AbstractBackgroundMany people with clinically diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia during life show multiple comorbid neuropathologies at autopsy. We sought to develop and evaluate a composite brain pathology score (BPS) score in the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study.MethodWe chose nine standard neuropathological variables to derive the BPS: Thal phase, Braak stage, CERAD score, cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) score, presence of Lewy Body disease, presence of hippocampal sclerosis, total microinfarcts, LATE stage, and presence of arteriolosclerosis. We used confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) to derive a composite score for BPS. We compared BPS to the AD Neuropathologic Change (ADNC) score.We performed non‐nested modeling to compare the association of each score (BPS vs ADNC) using the last cognitive score (memory, executive function, language, and visuospatial ability) prior to death, adjusting for age at death and sex. Non‐nested models were compared with the Adjusted‐R2, the Davidson‐MacKinnon J‐test, and the Cox–Pesaran test. We focused on people whose last cognitive data were≤2 years prior to death. We compared associations of ADNC and BPS with last known clinical diagnosis (no dementia vs. any dementia), adjusting for age at death and sex by considering area under receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves.ResultSample size was 886 with mean age of death was 89 and 57% were female. A bifactor model fit the best (Figure 1) with residual correlations for Thal phase and CERAD score, and for LATE stage and presence of hippocampal sclerosis. The BPS explained more of the variance for each of the cognitive scores (Table 1) and was superior and statistically significant compared to the ADNC score in comparisons of non‐nested models (Table 2). The BPS was also more strongly associated (Odds Ratio = 3.2) with dementia diagnosis than the ADNC score (Odds Ratio = 2.0). The area under the ROC curve for ADNC score was 0.74, while it was 0.78 for BPS score. The difference between the areas under ROC curves was statistically significant (p‐value < 0.0001).ConclusionWe demonstrate an approach to developing a composite brain pathology score which incorporates multiple forms of pathology. Future efforts will be focused on co‐calibrating and harmonizing BPS in other autopsy cohorts.

Modeling the hierarchy of teacher personality: The predictive power of domains and incremental facets for teacher job-related outcomes

Teacher personality has been recognized as an important factor in predicting job-related outcomes such as burnout, job performance, or motivation. Although personality facets can better predict various outcomes than domains, research on teacher personality at the facet level is still scarce. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the associations between teacher personality domains and incremental facets and indicators of teachers' job-related outcomes (i.e., job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, turnover intentions, self-efficacy). Data from 1137 secondary school teachers was collected at two time points. To decompose the variance in personality items into unique domain and facets parts while simultaneously controlling for the response style method factor and the measurement error, the domain-incremental facet-acquiescence bifactor (DIFAB) model was tested. The results showed that incremental facets explained variance in analyzed job-related outcomes beyond the domains, but the amount of the explained variance differed across the criteria.

Evaluating real-patient learning in medical education - Hungarian validation of the Manchester Clinical Placement Index.

The Manchester Clinical Placement Index (MCPI) is an instrument to measure medical undergraduates' real-patient learning in communities of practice both in hospital and in GP placements. Its suitability to evaluate the quality of placement learning environments has been validated in an English-language context; however, there is a lack of evidence for its applicability in other languages. Our aim was to thoroughly explore the factor structure and the key psychometric properties of the Hungarian language version. MCPI is an 8-item, mixed-method instrument which evaluates the quality of clinical placements as represented by the leadership, reception, supportiveness, facilities and organization of the placement (learning environment) as well as instruction, observation and feedback (training) on 7-point Likert scales with options for free-text comments on the strengths and weaknesses of the given placement on any of the items. We collected data online from medical students in their preclinical (1st, 2nd) as well as clinical years (4th, 5th) in a cross-sectional design in the academic years 2019-2020 and 2021-2022, by the end of their clinical placements. Our sample comprises data from 748 medical students. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed, and higher-order factors were tested. Although a bifactor model gave the best model fit (RMSEA = 0.024, CFI = 0.999, and TLI = 0.998), a high explained common variance (ECV = 0.82) and reliability coefficients (ωH = 0.87) for the general factor suggested that the Hungarian version of the MCPI could be considered unidimensional. Individual application of either of the subscales was not supported statistically due to their low reliabilities. The Hungarian language version of MCPI proved to be a valid unidimensional instrument to measure the quality of undergraduate medical placements. The previously reported subscales were not robust enough, in the Hungarian context, to distinguish, statistically, the quality of learning environments from the training provided within those environments. This does not, however, preclude formative use of the subscales for quality improvement purposes.

The structure of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised: Global distress, Somatization, Hostility, and Phobic Anxiety scales are reliable and robust across community and clinical samples from four European countries

While the reliability of SCL-90-R subscales is often questioned, five relatively recent European studies have examined the factor structure of SCL-90-R using a bifactor model and concluded that most of these subscales are reliable. However, examination of their results shows that three subscales, Somatization, Hostility, and Phobic Anxiety, consistently had significantly higher reliability than the other six across clinical and community samples recruited in three very different European countries, Greece, Hungary, and the Netherlands. The objective of this study was to examine whether this “top-3″ would be found in a sample from a fourth European country, France. To do this, we had 696 university students (387 women, 56 %) complete the SCL-90-R and we examined the reliability of the scales of this questionnaire by testing a bifactor model using Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM). Our results confirmed that, in our sample, the three scales presented a higher reliability than the other six scales. It therefore seems that there exists, at least in the European cultural area, a stable structure of the SCL-90-R comprising a global distress factor and three reliable and robust specific factors: Somatization, Hostility, and Phobic Anxiety.

Multidimensionality within the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale: application issues of specific structure

ABSTRACT Objective and background The 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is a widely-used screening measure for postnatal depression. Factor analysis studies have suggested an embedded sub-scale could be used for screening for anxiety disorders. The current investigation sought to replicate and extend a recent study supporting this assertion. Methods A cross-sectional design. EPDS data were collected at up to two years postpartum. Confirmatory factor analysis, correlational and distributional characteristics of the measure were examined. Participants were a large sample (N = 985) of postpartum women in the Czech Republic. Results Factor structure findings substantially replicated the models evaluated by Della Vedova et al. (2022). Bifactor models, however, offered a better fit to data. A general factor of depression explained most of the variance in data in most models compared to embedded sub-scales across models. Conclusion The model proposed by Della Vedova et al. (2022) offered an excellent fit to data. However, the findings from the bifactor modelling suggest the dominance of a general factor of depression which indicates the potential application of an embedded anxiety sub-scale for screening may be overstated.

Why drivers use in-vehicle technology: The role of basic psychological needs and motivation

With a growing amount of assistance and infotainment systems, drivers’ experiences are increasingly affected by in-vehicle technology. Accordingly, to enhance drivers’ well-being, the technology should be designed in an enjoyable and safe way with the central goal to provide a positive user experience (UX). To enhance the understanding of the role of psychological needs and motivations in the UX process, the present study investigated which psychological needs are present in driver-vehicle interaction today, how needs are satisfied for different technology types, and how needs are associated with motivation, UX, and acceptance. Therefore, an online study was conducted examining positive and negative experiences with in-vehicle technology (N = 399). Study results revealed that need satisfaction differs for assistance, infotainment, and navigation systems with an increased need satisfaction for positive experiences. In an exploratory bi-factor model of general and specific need satisfaction, associations with motivation, UX, the intention to use, and positive affect were explored in a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach. The results highlight that especially the needs for autonomy, system relatedness, relatedness, and competence are associated with the acceptance of in-vehicle technology. Overall, the findings provide insights into the psychological process of technology acceptance while practical implications for the design of in-vehicle technology can be derived.

Measurement Invariance of the Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener - Teacher Rating Scale

School-based universal screening in the social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) domains allows for the early identification of students in need of SEB support. Importantly, equitable assessment in universal screening for the SEB domains is critical to engage in accurate and ethical data-based decision-making. Measurement invariance is one method for examining potential inequities in assessment tools, permitting the ability to evaluate which assessments or assessment items perform differently across groups. As such, this study utilized multi-group confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate the extent of measurement invariance for a commonly used universal screening tool for the SEB domains: the Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener - Teacher Rating Scale (SAEBRS-TRS). The sample consisted of 1949 students in kindergarten through fourth grade in a Midwest, suburban school district. Examination of factor structures indicated the bifactor model yielded adequate fit and was utilized for measurement invariance testing. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis results provided preliminary evidence that the SAEBRS-TRS displays invariance across a variety of student characteristics. Specifically, results supported configural and metric/scalar invariance of the bifactor model across the student characteristics of racial or ethnic identity, sex assigned at birth, and eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch. Yet, future research is needed to corroborate these findings. Limitations, implications for practice, and directions for future research are discussed.

Factor Structure Validation and Measurement Invariance Testing of the Five C’s Model of Positive Youth Development among Emerging Adults in Malaysia

While validation of positive youth development (PYD) measures has increased considerably of late, validation of the Five C’s of PYD among emerging adults in non-WEIRD countries remains limited. The main objective of this study was to examine the factor structure, measurement invariance, and criterion-related validity of the Five C’s model of PYD through the use of the Positive Youth Development Inventory (PYDI). Data were collected from 436 university students in Malaysia, with a mean age of 21.19 ( SD = 1.19). The findings supported a modified bifactor model of the PYDI, which demonstrated strong measurement invariance across gender and race, but not across age categories. Connection showed the strongest latent factor correlations with the other four C’s. Criterion-related validity was supported through its association with psychological hardiness. The findings demonstrate adequate psychometric properties and cultural applicability of a modified bifactor model of the Five C’s model of PYD among emerging adults in Malaysia.

Giving Meaning to the Dark Triad: Comparison of Different Factor Structures of the Dirty Dozen Through Eight Regions of the World.

The traits of the dark triad (narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) capture the individual differences in the aversive personality. The dark triad has shown significant relations with behaviors that affect people's lives. One of the best-known instruments to assess the dark triad is the Dirty Dozen. However, controversy continues over the use of one general dark triad score or, conversely, three different scores. This study aimed to investigate the factor structure of the Dirty Dozen across eight global regions. There were 11,477 participants in 49 countries grouped into eight regions. Different factor structures were studied using confirmatory factor analyses. Both the three-dimensional models and the bifactor models (symmetrical or traditional and non-symmetrical or bifactor-[S - 1]) showed a good fit to the data. The bifactor-(S - 1) models (with psychopathy or Machiavellianism as the reference factors) show adequate fit to the data, supported by the coherence of the factorial loadings and the bifactor indices. Regarding measurement invariance for both models, configural, metric, and scalar invariance were satisfied. The results indicate that it is not clear whether a psychopathy or Machiavellianism reference factor predominates in the Dirty Dozen. For both models, templates are provided to obtain standardized scores for applied researchers in the eight studied world regions until future studies offer a greater amount of validity evidence for this instrument.

The adaptation and validation of the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index (Gold-MSI) in Italian: The Gold-MSI-IT

The Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index (Gold-MSI) measures a wide range of self-reported musical abilities and behaviors in the Western adult general population, regardless of musical expertise. This instrument has been validated in various languages, but an Italian version is lacking. The present study describes the Italian validation and adaptation of the Gold-MSI (Gold-MSI-IT) and investigates the effects of socio-demographic variables on scores of musical sophistication. Analyses of factor structure and internal reliability on an Italian sample ( N = 429, mean age = 31.08, SD = 11.68, 75.5% female) and analyses of test–retest reliability on a smaller sample ( N = 57, mean age = 34.68, SD = 10.80, 75% female) show that the Gold-MSI-IT conforms to a bifactor model, similarly to the original version, including an underlying General Musical Sophistication factor and five subfactors, and that our instrument has good internal consistency and good test–retest reliability. Additional tests showed gender differences in musical sophistication and that musical sophistication correlated with education but not with age. The study provides a reliable and stable tool to investigate individual differences in the Italian context and adds to our knowledge of musicality in the general population across countries.

Unpacking thep-factor. Associations Between Maladaptive Personality Traits and General Psychopathology in Female and Male Adolescents.

Adolescence is a period of rapid physical, psychological, and neural maturation that makes youth vulnerable to emerging psychopathology, highlighting the need for improved identification of psychopathology risk indicators. Recently, a higher-order latent psychopathology factor (p-factor) was identified that explains latent liability for psychopathology beyond internalizing and externalizing difficulties. However, recent proposals suggest reconceptualizing the p-factor model in terms ofimpairments in personality encompassing difficulties in both self-regulation (borderline features) and self-esteem (narcissistic features), but this remains untested. To address this, this study examined the p-factor structure and the contribution of borderline and narcissistic features using two cross-sectional data collections. In Study 1, 974 cisgender adolescents (63% assigned females at birth; age range: 13-19; Mage = 16.68,SD = 1.40) reported on internalizing and externalizing problems (YSR) to test via structural equation models (SEM) different theoretical models for adolescent psychopathology. In Study 2, 725 cisgender adolescents (64.5% assigned females at birth; age range: 13-19; Mage = 16.22,SD = 1.32) reported internalizing and externalizing problems (YSR), borderline personality features (BPFSC-11), and narcissistic personality traits (PNI), to explore, via SEM, thecontribution ofborderline and narcissistic traitsto the p-factor and accounting for gender differences.Results confirmed the utility of a bi-factor model in adolescence. Furthermore, findings highlighted the contribution of borderline features and narcissistic vulnerability to general psychopathology. The study provides the first evidence supporting a p-factor model reconceptualized in terms ofpersonality impairments encompassing difficulties in self-regulation and self-esteem in adolescents.