Factor Analysis Approach Research Articles

Validation of a Mathematics Teaching Assessment Scale for K-12 Basic Education: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis Approach

Mathematics teaching in the K-12 Basic Education Curriculum encourages educators to adopt student-centered approaches and emphasize the development of 21st-century skills. Assessing the pedagogical practices of mathematics teachers using a specific tool validated through quantitative approaches is essential to ensure the effectiveness and quality of mathematics instruction. While previous research has focused on instrument validation in various areas, including self-efficacy of math teachers, mathematics teachers’ anxiety, and online education, existing classroom observation tools have limitations, particularly in assessing public school teachers' performance specifically intended for mathematics teachers. This study aimed to validate a mathematics teaching assessment scale. The scale, constructed based on the Department of Education's classroom observation tool, initially comprised 22 items across four constructs: Mastery of the K-12 Mathematics, Teaching Methodologies, ICT Integration, and Assessment of Learning. The scale was validated through content validation, reliability testing, inter-item correlation, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), convergent validity, and discriminant validity. A total of 687 mathematics teachers from four public schools in each of the five municipalities of the National Capital Region participated. Content validity was established by eight experts using the Scale Content Validity Index and Item-Content Validity Index, with indices exceeding 0.833, indicating validity. Each construct demonstrated desirable reliability indices based on Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability coefficients. Confirmatory Factor Analysis removed six indicators, resulting in a final scale of 16 items across four constructs. The validated instrument can effectively evaluate mathematics teachers' classroom teaching, focusing on 21st-century skills and student-centered approaches.

Designing key performance indicators (KPIs) for decent work in the pharmaceutical supply chain of Iran

While decent work has emerged as the central theme of the psychology of work theory and a global concept and directive for promoting social, political, and economic justice, it has garnered increasing scientific and political attention in the past two decades. However, until now, no defined measurement scale for the pharmaceutical supply chain exists. The present study aims to design and validate key performance indicators (KPIs) for 'decent work' in the pharmaceutical industry supply chain of Iran, using the Decent Work Daffi Scale (2017) as a reliable framework with five sub-scales and 15 items, tested and validated. For the validation of the Decent Work Scale, a quantitative survey study was conducted among selected pharmaceutical industry experts with a sample size of 228 individuals in the year 2023. The current study adopted an exploratory factor analysis approach using SPSS software and a confirmatory factor analysis through AMOS version 24 software. In this context, the factor structure, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and Cronbach's alpha coefficients were examined. The results showed that the five-factor structure outperforms the one-factor model with evidence supporting the convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of the five-factor scale. Thus, the measurement of decent work in the pharmaceutical industry of Iran comprises five sub-scales: occupational safety conditions, access to healthcare, adequate remuneration, Free time and rest, and alignment of organizational values with family and societal values. This scale can serve as a useful tool for industrial and organizational psychology research, as well as for studies on the sustainability of social supply chains.

Alternative technologies of composite of highly loaded aircraft structures: a qualitative method for making multicriteria decisions: Part III. Research of the methodological basis in decision-making: technological constructions in in the assessment toolki

The third part of the article proceeds from the starting points in the decision-making problem (DMP) specified in the first stages of research [1, 2]. Here, we continue to compare the predominance (first of all, quality) of autoclave and non-autoclave alternative technological processes (ATP) as part of the stages of TP(e) with a linear algorithm of end-to-end action in the manufacture of carbon fiber (CF) aircraft structures (AC) such as highly loaded wing stringer panels (HLS) of B787, A350, MC-21, CSeries mainline aircraft as a component of hierarchical systems. To describe and study them, the following were involved: initial technological and verbal models, technological and mathematical model of an autonomous dynamic system (ADS) and a number of two-dimensional manifolds (topology) to it in the form of technological and geometric models. The article continues the study of development in this direction by approximating manifolds by polyhedra. Including co-cellular and double-formed structures - pentagonal pyramids and bipyramids, as well as bodies of revolution around them - cone and bicon. Examples of schematic and technological interpretive modeling are presented. The methodological basis is the main provisions of decision-making theory, factor analysis and system-process approach with the involvement of practice results (expert analysis), first of all, the definition of technological factors of processes with criterion assessments of the advantages, components of alternatives in their competitive strategies.

Factor Analysis Approach for Measuring Safety Culture in Research University in Malaysia

Introduction: Safety culture is an important factor for improving safety in university. This study aimed to examines the construct validity and reliability of the elements of safety culture in research universities in Malaysia. Methods: A measuring instrument was developed and analyzed for reliability using an exploratory factor analysis approach. The reliability analysis was determined using Cronbach’s Alpha. About 298 postgraduates’ students from five research universities were selected randomly. An exploratory factor analysis was performed using the principal component method with varimax rotation, Kaiser Meyer Olkin, Bartlett’s test of Sphericity and Cronbach’s alpha were obtained. Statistical analysis was carried out using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) and Analysis Moment of Structures (AMOS) version 24.0 (IBM SPSS-AMOS V24.0) software. Results: Findings indicated that the Keiser-Meyer-Olkin for all elements of safety culture (training, leadership, management commitment and communication) was in the range 0.799 and 0.916, in which the value was greater than 0.70, while Barlett’s test with a p value of 0.000. Factor loadings were greater than 0.60 in all elements of safety culture. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was at the range of reliability between 0.8 < α < 0.9. Conclusion: It can be concluded the instrument was found to be a potential mechanism for measuring safety culture in research universities in Malaysia.

Investigating the determinants of construction project complexity impacting project success: an India perspective

The problem of time and cost overruns has been prominent in the Indian construction industry, reporting project complexity as a causal parameter for the volatility in cost and schedule parameters of project performance impacting their success. This paper examines the construct of construction project complexity and explores the significant determinants of project complexity. The study identifies twenty-three determinants of project complexity specific to project success parameters of time and cost, through the literature review based on the mapping of complex system properties, project characteristics, and success parameters as derived through existing theories. These determinants were rationalized and categorized based on 110 responses from industry experts gathered through a questionnaire survey. The gathered data is analyzed using a confirmatory factor analysis approach based on the maximum likelihood estimation. The goodness of fit indices establish the fitness of the model. The analysis results establish the validity with adequate evidence of the reliability of the data. The scale comprising of organizational, technological, environmental, information, emergent, goal, and legal as the significant determinants of complexity and thus, can provide insight to project managers about the main factors that can lead to enhanced levels of decision-making while delivering in such dynamic complex project systems.

A Developmentally Informed Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Strength of General Psychopathology in Childhood and Adolescence.

Considerable support exists for higher-order dimensional conceptualizations of psychopathology in adults. A growing body of work has focused on understanding the structure of general and specific psychopathology in children and adolescents. No prior meta-analysis has examined whether the strength of the general psychopathology factor (p factor)-measured by explained common variance (ECV)-changes from childhood to adolescence. The primary objective of this multilevel meta-analysis was to determine whether general psychopathology strength changes across development (i.e. across ages) in childhood and adolescence. Several databases were searched in November 2021; 65 studies, with 110 effect sizes (ECV), nested within shared data sources, were identified. Included empirical studies used a factor analytic modeling approach that estimated latent factors for child/adolescent internalizing, externalizing, and optionally thought-disordered psychopathology, and a general factor. Studies spanned ages 2-17years. Across ages, general psychopathology explained over half (~ 56%) of the reliable variance in symptoms of psychopathology. Age-moderation analyses revealed that general factor strength remained stable across ages, suggesting that general psychopathology strength does not significantly change across childhood to adolescence. Even if the structure of psychopathology changes with development, the prominence of general psychopathology across development has important implications for future research and intervention.

Skala Regulasi Emosi: Analisis Reliabilitas dan Validitas Konstruk melalui Pendekatan Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

Emotion is a response shown by an individual to an event or stimulus that can affect his mental state. These emotions require control within the individual to be able to produce positive behavior, feelings and mental states in the process of emotional regulation. Measuring emotional regulation is needed to be able to describe a person's emotional control state. The aim of this research is to produce a valid and reliable emotional regulation scale. This research method is a research and development method with the ADDIE model. The population in this study was 2996 Class XI high school students in Ilir Barat 1 District, Palembang City. The total sample for this research was 102 respondents taken randomly. This research data processing uses SPSS with the product moment formula and factor analysis with a confirmatory factor analysis approach. The results of the research show that the content validity of experts states that 95% of the scale is suitable for use, and the emotional regulation scale prepared is constructively valid with 45 items with a Cronbach's alpha reliability value of 0.948. It was concluded that the emotional regulation scale was suitable for use with a larger and more diverse group of respondents.

Development and Validation of Cyberbullying Measurement Instrument: A Mixed Method Approach

This research is motivated by the increasing increase in cyber bullying and the negative impacts it causes. This research aims to develop a cyberbullying measurement instrument using a mixed methods approach involving three stages. Theme exploration stage, namely the qualitative stage with open questionnaire data collection techniques to explore themes surrounding Cyberbullying. At this stage the data analysis technique applied is open coding (65 participants). The testing stage is the content validity stage where the instrument is assessed by experts using the Aiken formula. This stage also includes factor analysis with an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) approach which helps identify the factorial structure underlying the instrument, relationships between items, and grouping items based on dimensions (270 participants). Scale validation stage where at this stage confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out to test and validate the factorial model identified through EFA (789 Participants). Sampling technique uses convenience sampling technique. The results of the research show that based on the CFA test, the cyber bullying scale showed that all items had loading factor values >0.5 and construct reliability >0.7, as well as AVE results >0.5, so that all the items used were forming factors of the latent variable. The items used are valid and reliable items so they can be relied upon as research measuring tools. Reliable Cyberbullying measurement instruments can more precisely identify cyberbullying behavior and thus can assist in a better understanding of this phenomenon, so that prevention and intervention efforts can be targeted more effectively.

Cybersex and Attachment Styles: Proposal of the Emotional and Relational Aspects in Cybersex Activities (ERACA) Questionnaire.

The current study presents the development and the initial validation of a new questionnaire to assess individual differences in emotional and relational aspects related to cybersex activities (i.e., the ERACA). A total of 246 adults (105 females, mean age = 31.89 years, SD = 10.03) coming from the general adult population participated in the study. The items of the ERACA were developed considering the extant literature, and an exploratory factor analysis approach indicated a three-factor structure (i.e., the gratification of the Self through the objectification of other people, the gratification of the Self through relational aspects, betrayal, and infidelity). The associations between the dimensions of the ERACA and dimensional measures of both attachment styles and online sexual behaviors indicated that different aspects related to the quality of the relationships play a different role in individual differences concerning emotional and relational aspects of cybersex activities. The discussion emphasizes the potential usefulness of the ERACA questionnaire for both research purposes and from a health-promoting point of view.

Developing a reading proficiency scale for Chinese as a second language: a confirmatory factor analysis approach

There is a long history of operationalizing theoretical constructs of language proficiency by developing language proficiency scales. However, existing scales are not directly applicable in teaching and assessing Chinese as a second language (CSL) reading in US higher education contexts. Teachers need guidance regarding what component reading skills/knowledge should be taught and measured. This study developed a CSL Reading Proficiency Scale aligning to Koda’s (2005) theoretical framework that models L2 reading as a three-factor construct. The scale development began with modeling the construct of CSL reading ability on the basis of literature review. Drawing on this process, an operational descriptive scheme and a descriptor pool were established and subjected to expert review of content validity. Descriptors that survived expert review were then compiled into a Likert-scale questionnaire. This instrument was tested through teachers’ evaluations (N = 179) of whether CSL learners ‘can do’ what were denoted by descriptors. Confirmatory factor analysis exhibits solid goodness of fit between descriptors and the hypothesized three-factor model. The total score and the three subscale scores show high reliability. Evidence of convergent validity, discriminant validity, and concurrent validity indicates that the Scale measures CSL reading ability as intended.

The validation of financial behavior instruments for university students: An exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis approach

This study aimed to develop and validate instruments for measuring financial behavioral constructs. This study contributes to looking at the habits of university students in managing pocket money earned from parents in daily life. The sample of this study is economic education students at state universities in Indonesia. Data collection was carried out through online questionnaires. Data analysis was carried out in 2 stages, namely, EFA (Exploratory Factor Analysis) in a pilot study of 112 respondents and CFA (Confirmatory Factor Analysis) of 440 respondents in the field study. The results showed that the financial behavior constructs with three dimensions, namely, saving behavior, spending behavior, and financial planning, have met the validity and reliability requirements to be used in future research. Researchers can then review other factors that affect financial behavior so that they can find other factors that can influence it. In addition, this study can also be carried out in various countries, but sufficient data support is needed if the dimensions in this construct will be used in future research.

The Proposed Approach to Current Financial Requirement Management in Organizations of The Alcoholic Beverages

Purpose: The aim of the article is to evaluate the turnover of current financial demand and the components underlying its calculation in alcoholic organizations listed on the international stock exchange and to propose a factor analysis and evaluation approach based on linear regression analysis, which will be considered as a new way to improve the financial management of working capital. Theoretical framework: This article presents an assessment of the use of working capital in alcoholic companies that are studied and listed on the world stock exchange, and offers practical solutions to improve the financial management of working capital. Design/methodology/approach: Within the framework of the research, we offer a new methodological solution for assessing the impact of the current financial requirement and the variables that determine it. First of all, the focus will be made from the point of view of interdependence in relation to income, based on which the turnover of the result indicator (CFR) and variables (AP, AR and I) in days is estimated. Findings: According to the results of the assessment in the companies Ambev S.A (Brazil), Anheuser-Busch (Belgium) and Diageo (UK), in the case of a change of division, the turnover of receivables (X1) and inventories (X3) has a positive effect on the turnover of current financial requirements, as well as the turnover of accounts payable per unit of change, has a negative effect on the liquidity of current financial requirements. It follows from the results of the analysis that for the companies under review, effective management of receivables and inventories is considered a key area of working capital management. Research, Practical & Social implications: During the study, we proposed a new methodological solution by conducting an assessment of working capital usage and factor analysis of the financial requirement of Ambev S.A (Brazil), Anheuser-Busch (Belgium) and Diageo (UK) companies involved in the production of alcoholic beverages in the world stock exchange. Originality/value: The scientific novelty of the study lies in the proposed approach to the evaluation of the index of current financial demand and turnover (in days) of its components (factors), as well as the marginal intervals of regulation.

A Genome‐Wide Search for Pleiotropy in More Than 100,000 Harmonized Longitudinal Cognitive Domain Scores

AbstractBackgroundMore than 75 common variant loci account for only a portion of the heritability for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). A more complete understanding of the genetic basis of AD can be deduced by exploring associations with AD‐related endophenotypes.MethodWe conducted genome‐wide scans for cognitive domain performance using harmonized and co‐calibrated scores derived by confirmatory factor analyses for executive function, language, and memory. We analyzed 103,796 longitudinal observations from 23,066 members of community‐based (FHS, ACT, ROSMAP) and clinic‐based (ADRCs, ADNI) cohorts using generalized linear mixed models including terms for SNP, age, SNP×age interaction, sex, education, and five ancestry principal components. Significance was determined based on a joint test of the SNP’s main effect and interaction with age. Results across datasets were combined using inverse‐variance meta‐analysis. Genome‐wide tests of pleiotropy for each domain pair as the outcome were performed using PLACO software.ResultIndividual domain and pleiotropy analyses revealed genome‐wide significant (GWS) associations with five established loci for AD and AD‐related disorders (BIN1, CR1, GRN, MS4A6A, APOE) and eight novel loci. ULK2 was associated with executive function in the community‐based cohorts (rs157405, P = 2.19×10−9). GWS associations for language were identified with CDK14 in the clinic‐based cohorts (rs705353, P = 1.73×10−8) and LINC02712 in the total sample (rs145012974, P = 3.66×10−8). GRN (rs5848, P = 4.21×10−8) and PURG (rs117523305, P = 1.73×10−8) were associated with memory in the total and community‐based cohorts, respectively. GWS pleiotropy was observed for language and memory with LOC107984373 (rs73005629, P = 3.12×10−8) in the clinic‐based cohorts, and with NCALD (rs56162098, P = 1.23×10−9) and PTPRD (rs145989094, P = 8.34×10−9) in the community‐based cohorts. GWS pleiotropy was also found for executive function and memory with OSGIN1 (rs12447050, P = 4.09×10−8) and PTPRD (rs145989094, P = 3.85×10−8) in the community‐based cohorts. Functional studies have previously linked AD to ULK2, NCALD, and PTPRD.ConclusionOur results provide some insight into genes associated with domain‐specific cognitive impairment and AD, as well as a conduit toward a syndrome‐specific precision medicine approach to AD. Increasing the size of datasets by applying the confirmatory factor analysis approach to derive harmonized measures of cognitive performance would likely enhance the discovery of additional genetic factors of cognitive decline leading to AD and related dementias.

Multi‐level Factor Analysis of Daily Data to Identify Subsyndromes of Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms

AbstractBackgroundBehavioral and psychological symptoms in dementia (BPSD) are dynamic phenomena with a high amount of intraindividual variability. Many studies have used single‐level factor analysis approaches to identify subsyndromes of BPSD based upon meaningful groupings of co‐occurring symptoms yet, proposed subsyndromes have not been successfully replicated and lack stability over time. This may be due to measurement issues which do not account for dependencies in the data and create temporal misalignment. We applied an innovative multi‐level framework to overcome limitations of prior research to identify subsyndromes of BPSD.MethodsThis study used an intensive longitudinal design in which co‐residing family caregivers to persons living with dementia in the community were recruited to proxy‐report on their care recipient’s daily symptom experiences of 23 different BPSD for 8 consecutive days. A multi‐level exploratory/confirmatory factory analysis was utilized to account for nested data and separate within‐person variances from between‐level factor estimates.ResultsFamily caregivers (N = 70) were on average African American (54%) females (69%) most often caring for a parent with dementia (62%) average 74 years old requiring assistance with 4.5/7 activities of daily living. Data were provided on 79% of sampled days (n = 443 diaries). Exploratory factor analysis identified a 4‐between 3‐within factor structure based on fit statistics and clinical interpretability. The between‐level subsyndromes include wandering/aggression/care resistance (F1), affective/apathy/psychosis/vocalizations (F2), cognitive/ lability/ euphoria/ impulsivity/ compulsions (F3), and hallucinations/uncooperative (F4). Reliability estimates were high: 0.88 (F1), 0.91 (F2), 0.83 (F3), and 0.79 (F4).ConclusionThe between‐level factor structure identified through the multilevel factor analysis framework provide a more valid and reliable estimation of clinical subsyndromes within a population by separating out the variance due to within‐person daily fluctuations. At the between‐level, hallucinations was the only BPSD to cross‐load, which may indicate they are a byproduct of unmanaged depression in the affective/psychosis factor and their own unique subsyndrome. Support for the between‐level subsyndromes can be found in studies on shared neurobiological mechanisms of BPSD. The within‐level factors are similar to structures found in a recent systematic review. We argue these within‐level factors are more representative of symptom clusters, as they are driven by fluctuating contextual factors.

Human factors in creative entrepreneurship: Significance of entrepreneurs’ personal characteristics, perceived status, and emotions

ABSTRACT This article explores the human-oriented factors that are predictive of creative entrepreneurs’ personal characteristics, perceived status, and emotions. It also determines the influencing effect among these indices in the creative entrepreneurs’ entrepreneurial activities. Guided by a cross-sectional design, quantitative data were collected from 576 creative entrepreneurs and analyzed stepwisely using factor analysis and path analysis approaches. Findings from the factor analysis show that nine factors are predictive of the entrepreneurs’ personal characteristics, 11 factors are predictive of their perceived status, and three factors are predictive of their emotions. It is concluded that creative entrepreneurs are influenced either positively or negatively by their personal characteristics, perceived status, and emotions when pursuing their entrepreneurial activities. Also, an influencing effect exists between their personal characteristics, perceived status, and emotions, the dynamism of which gives credence to the importance of the conception of humane entrepreneurship in the effective design of creative entrepreneurship skills and practices.

The water tap design for ablution activities considering cultural influences: a design for sustainability

Water is a vital resource that should be utilized effectively. However, it is overused and squandered on a daily need, including the unrestrained use of water for ablution purposes. This condition can be due to a lack of awareness and the influences of peer cultural values. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop a water-tap design that takes into consideration the influences of cultural value. Accordingly, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) approach the significant correlation between cultural influences and user preferences on water-tap design by referring at the critical threshold output of each attribute. The result showed that collectivism and uncertainty avoidance dimensions were identified as the influencing cultural dimensions and the automatic water level-control float valve, mechanical water-taps with auto-stop function, and transparent water tanks are the most important considerations for water tap technical specification. Through the assessment of its applicability, the use of the prototype can reduce water usage by 54.6% compared to regular water-taps. Correspondingly, the approach of cultural value in the designing process is expected to give more insights to practices such as product designers when determining design specification while for knowledge, it extends the applicability of Hofstede cultural theory for product design and development.

What Do We Know About People’s Politics? Testing a New Framework for Understanding Different Conceptions of Politics

This study aims to increase the understanding of citizens’ different conceptions of politics. This is done by constructing a framework based on Heywood’s seminal works (2002; 2004) on three prominent understandings of politics. Guided by the framework and adopting a factor-analytic approach using the National SOM survey conducted in Sweden in autumn 2020 ( N = 1845), I found two theoretically interesting dimensions: a ‘macro-politics’ dimension that covers content related to government and the welfare state and a ‘micro-politics’ dimension that concerns content associated with everyday life. The largest group of respondents consists of people whose conceptions of politics solely cover ‘macro-politics’ (76.4%). The second largest group are those who do not consider either of these two dimensions to be political (12.9%). The opposite view to this, which combines ‘macro-politics’ and ‘micro-politics’, is held by a slightly smaller group (9.4%). A minor group was also found, consisting of people whose conception of politics only covers ‘micro-politics’ (1.2%). We ran analyses based on previous important findings on people’s conceptions of politics. Contrary to prevailing knowledge, the results show that left-leaners conceptualize (only) ‘micro-politics’ content as political more frequently than right-leaners, older people do not perceive more content as political than younger people (but view different content as political), and women, compared to men, identify more areas as political irrespective of content.

Uncovering the common factors of chemical exposure and behavior: Evaluating behavioral effects across a testing battery using factor analysis

Although specific environmental chemical exposures, including flame retardants, are known risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), direct experimental evidence linking specific chemicals to NDDs is limited. Studies focusing on the mechanisms by which the social processing systems are vulnerable to chemical exposure are underrepresented in the literature, even though social impairments are defining characteristics of many NDDs. We have repeatedly demonstrated that exposure to Firemaster 550 (FM 550), a prevalent flame retardant mixture used in foam-based furniture and infant products, can adversely impact a variety of behavioral endpoints. Our recent work in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), a prosocial animal model, demonstrated that perinatal exposure to FM 550 sex specifically impacts socioemotional behavior. Here, we utilized a factor analysis approach on a battery of behavioral data from our prior study to extract underlying factors that potentially explain patterns within the FM 550 behavior data. This approach identified which aspects of the behavioral battery are most robust and informative, an outcome critical for future study designs. Pearson’s correlation identified behavioral endpoints associated with distance and stranger interactions that were highly correlated across 5 behavioral tests. Using these behavioral endpoints, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) extracted 2 factors that could explain the data: Activity (distance traveled endpoints) and Sociability (time spent with a novel conspecific). Exposure to FM 550 significantly decreased Activity and decreased Sociability. This factor analysis approach to behavioral data offers the advantages of modeling numerous measured variables and simplifying the data set by presenting the data in terms of common, overarching factors in terms of behavioral function.

A - 3 Quantifying the Richness of the Boston Process Approach (BPA) Using a Novel Analytic Approach: the Framingham Heart Study.

Neuropsychological (NP) tests are often interpreted with a one test-one domain analytic approach in research, which misrepresents their clinical utility. The Boston Process Approach (BPA) allows for extraction of multi domain features within and across NP tests although its use is hampered by the data complexity and lack of objective quantification methods. In this study, we aim to develop a novel factor analytic approach that quantifies the richness of BPA data in the Framingham Heart Study (FHS). Data included BPA error scores (n = 172) derived from 10 baseline NP tests from 2238 Offspring participants. The outcome variable was dementia diagnosis. Factor analyses were conducted using Kemeny covariance matrix with maximum likelihood decomposition. Dwyer's (1937) method was used to estimate factor loadings for demographic variables (sex, education, and age) and dementia status. Participants' average age was 67.3 ± 9.3years, 54.5% were female, 41.3% had education ≥ college degree, and 92.5% were without dementia. A bifactor model demonstrated adequate fit (TLI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.03), similar to the best multi-factor model (TLI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.03), and improved over a single factor model (TLI = 0.87, RMSEA = 0.05). Omega estimates revealed saturation in general factor versus total factor loadings (ratio: 0.90). Dementia status loaded highly on the general factor (0.82, h2 = 0.81), as did sex (0.44, h2 = 0.27). BPA data fit a bifactor model, with most variation accounted for by the general factor. This study quantifies the richness of BPA measures into a single factor score that can be used as a predictor for several outcomes in clinical research.

Examining Appropriacy of CFI and TLI Cutoff Value in Multiple-Group CFA Test of Measurement Invariance to Enhance Accuracy of Test Score Interpretation

The most common effect size when using a multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis approach to measurement invariance is ΔCFI and ΔTLI with a cutoff value of 0.01. However, this recommended cutoff value may not be ubiquitously appropriate and may be of limited application for some tests (e.g., measures using dichotomous items or different estimation methods, sample sizes, or model complexity). Moreover, prior cutoff value estimations often have ignored consequences resulting in using measures that more accurately estimate countries’ or learners’ proficiency for some countries or groups versus others. In this study, we investigate whether the cutoff value proposed by Cheung and Rensvold (ΔCFI or ΔTLI > 0.01) is appropriate across educational measurement contexts. Specifically, we investigated the performance of ΔCFI and ΔTLI in capturing LOI at the scalar level in dichotomous items within item response theory on groups whose test characteristic curves differed by 0.5. Simulation results showed that the proposed cutoff value of 0.01 in ΔCFI and ΔTLI was not appropriate to capture LOI under the study conditions, which may result in the misinterpretation of test results or inaccurate inferences.