First-order Measurement Model Research Articles

The psychometric properties of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale on a Zimbabwean population

Orientation: Work engagement has been found to be related to positive job attitudes such as job involvement, job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and low turnover intention.Research purpose: The primary goal of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) on a Zimbabwean sample.Motivation for the study: The UWES is a widely used measure of work engagement. Therefore, there is a need to assess the reliability and construct validity of the UWES in a Zimbabwean sample owing to the paucity of studies on its psychometric properties in this setting.Research approach/design and method: A cross-sectional survey research design was employed (N = 304). A non-probability sample of 304 participants from selected security organisations was studied. The UWES was used to measure work engagement, and its reliability was evaluated using SPSS. Construct validity was assessed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using LISREL.Main findings: Moderately high levels of reliability were found for the UWES subscales. A poor model fit with the data was found for first-order measurement models through CFA.Practical/managerial implications: The UWES demonstrated a reasonable fit for the 9-item scale CFA model tested in this study. Moderately high reliability coefficients were recorded for all the subscales of the UWES.Contribution/value-add: The study promotes the use of reliable and valid instruments in Zimbabwe by confirming the psychometric properties of the UWES.

Developing Measurement of Collaboration Between the Supplier and Client Firms

This study recommends a suitable model for evaluating supply chain collaboration in the natural forest products industry. We follow a two-step analysis: The first-order measurement model is leveraged to assess collaboration level, and the second-order confirmatory factor analysis develops the collaboration level by using four indicators representing customer and supplier firms as well as two specific indicators for each of them. Four items are common practices for both sides: joint sales forecasting, exchange of basic information, joint planning, and joint delivery improvement. Two practices are highly oriented toward customers: resource sharing of logistics assets and exchange of performance evaluation. Business-to-business practices engaged mostly with suppliers include the implementation of replenishment systems and joint new product development. Collaboration measurement between suppliers and client firms contributes to effectively manage the relationship between the supplier and client firms and can improve the competitiveness of participating firms in the network.

Building Information Modeling Technology Capabilities: Operationalizing the Multidimensional Construct

The identification and leverage of the Building Information Model (BIM) technology are at the core of the successful digital transformation of the construction industry. However, due to its ability to integrate with various digital technologies and platforms, facilitating the digital and sustainable construction of the entire lifecycle of a building, BIM technology cannot be simply defined and operationalized with a single dimension of the construct. Based on the importance of multidimensional structures called for in the viewpoint of existing research and the resource-based view, we develop a second-order construct model to measure BIM technology capabilities. We define and operationalize the BIM technology capabilities, based on theory, as a reflective–reflective higher-order construct by developing and validating a 17-item scale that captures three first-order constructs. The measurement model results show strong reliability, dimensionality of the first-order measurement model, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. The multidimensional structure and instrument provide researchers with an opportunity to test the theories about the antecedents and outcomes of BIM technology capabilities, as well as the process and conditions.

Measuring Subjective Wellbeing in a School Context: A Polish Version of the Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire

The Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire is a measure designed to assess adolescents’ subjective wellbeing at school. The article presents our work toward adapting the SSWQ to the Polish cultural context. The Polish translation of the SSWQ, the KIDSCREEN–27, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) were administered to 818 students aged 10–16 years, who were in Grades 5–8 of elementary school. As a result of a language adaptation process, a 16-item questionnaire was created, comprising four subscales, like the original version: School Connectedness, Joy of Learning, Educational Purpose, and Academic Efficacy. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that both the SSWQ-PL first-order measurement model, which consisted of the above four fully correlated factors, and its second-order measurement model, which structured these four first-order factors as indicators of one second-order factor (i.e., student subjective wellbeing), showed good data–model fit and high internal consistency with the present sample. Cronbach’s alpha for the overall score was .87 and H coefficient was .94. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient between the total SSWQ-PL scores at two time points was.88 (p < .01), which suggests that the SSWQ-PL is reliable over time. Results showed that the SSWQ-PL had appropriate convergent and divergent validity with scores from the KIDSCREEN-27 and STAIC, which means it can be a useful measure to assess students’ subjective wellbeing in school counseling.

Development and validation of the Multidimensional Cognitive Attentional Syndrome Scale (MCASS).

The cognitive attentional syndrome (CAS), a multidimensional construct that consists of maladaptive forms of self-regulation, is central to the metacognitive model. Despite the CAS's central importance to the metacognitive model, as well as evidence that components of the CAS are risk factors for the development of emotional disorders, a psychometrically sound self-report measure that accounts for the multidimensional nature of the CAS has yet to be developed. The present set of studies details the development and initial validation of the Multidimensional Cognitive Attentional Syndrome Scale (MCASS). In study 1, a pool of 69 items, assessing the seven self-regulation strategies of the CAS, was administered to U.S. adults recruited through a crowd-sourcing website (N = 323). Structural analyses supported the proposed 7-factor solution and three items with the highest loadings on each factor, without salient cross-loadings, were retained. In Study 2, adult participants (N = 389) completed a battery of self-report measures, including the retained 21 MCASS items. The reduced item pool was examined using both first- and second-order measurement models. The 7-factor first-order measurement model and the second-order measurement model, with each of the first-order factors loading on a higher-order construct (i.e., CAS), provided adequate model fit. Each of the seven, first-order factors exhibited significant loadings on the second-order construct. Convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity analyses further supported the construct validity of the MCASS scale scores. The MCASS may be particularly useful for examining the theoretical underpinnings of the metacognitive model, as well as for more comprehensive clinical monitoring of the CAS. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Designing a national model for assessment of nursing informatics competency

BackgroundDue to the need for informatics competencies in the field of nursing, the present study was conducted to design a psychometric instrument to determine the qualification of informatics competencies of employed nurses in educational care centers.MethodsThe questionnaire was made by reviewing existing scientific resources and assessment tools. Two hundred nurses were selected using simple random sampling. Structural equation modeling was used using the measurement model technique and the average variance was calculated. Linear structural relations (LISREL) software was used to test the assumptions and correlations of the model.ResultsFindings showed relatively good estimation in the fit of first-order measurement model. The informatics knowledge subscale with a determining rate of 0.90 had the greatest explanatory effect among the subscales and informatics skill with a determining rate of 0.67 and basic computer skill with a determining rate of 0.60 were observed. The second-order measurement model of fitness indicators showed that the three factors can well explain the multidimensional construct of informatics competency.ConclusionsThe designed tool can be used to develop educational strategies in relation to nursing students in the field of informatics and prepare them in the rich environment of information technology, which can be helpful in training nursing instructors.

Assessment of the questionnaire of environmental factors and adolescent smoking behavior: a psychometric study

ABSTRACT Background Smoking is one of the leading causes of mortality in the world. Evidence suggests that environmental factors (EF) play an important role in adolescent smoking behavior. Therefore, the present study aimed to perform a psychometric analysis of the questionnaire of EF on smoking behavior and evaluate the theoretical framework with a path analysis approach in adolescents in Isfahan, Iran. Methods This psychometric cross-sectional study recruited a sample of 340 adolescents selected by simple random stratified clustered sampling in Isfahan in 2019. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire of EF. Results The participants’ mean age was 16.67 (0.98) years. The content validity index and content validity ratio of the questionnaire of EF were 0.8 and 0.58, respectively, and its total corrected item-total correlations index was 0.377. The results of confirmatory factor analysis showed acceptable goodness of fit for the first-order measurement model of environmental variables, and the results of path analysis showed acceptable goodness of fit for the explanatory model of EF. Conclusions The present study provided a valid and reliable explanatory model of EF of smoking behavior and its related questionnaire, so it can be used in studies related to adolescent smoking behavior.

Measurement Invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition 10-Subtest Primary Battery: Can Index Scores be Compared across Age, Sex, and Diagnostic Groups?

Measurement invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V) 10 subtest primary battery was evaluated across sex, age (6–8, 9–11, 12–14, and 15–16 year-olds), and three diagnostic (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and encephalopathy) groups within a large clinical sample ( N = 5359) referred to a children’s specialty hospital. Competing models were tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and a five-factor oblique model corresponding to the publisher’s hypothesized first-order measurement model (e.g., verbal comprehension, fluid reasoning, visual-spatial, working memory, and processing speed) was found to have the best model fit. Multigroup CFA was subsequently used to evaluate progressively more restrictive constraints on the measurement model. Results indicated that full metric invariance was attained across the three groups studied. Full scalar invariance was attained for sex and diagnostic groups. Partial scalar invariance was attained for age-group. The results of this study provide support for the first-order scoring structure of the five WISC-V factors in the 10 subtest primary battery with this large clinical sample.

Individual differences in cognitive processes underlying Trail Making Test-B performance in old age: The Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

The Trail Making Test Part B (TMT-B) is commonly used as a brief and simple neuropsychological assessment of executive dysfunction. The TMT-B is thought to rely on a number of distinct cognitive processes that predict individual differences in performance. The current study examined the unique and shared contributions of latent component variables in a large cohort of older people. Five hundred and eighty-seven healthy, community-dwelling older adults who were all born in 1936 were assessed on the TMT-B and multiple tasks tapping cognitive domains of visuospatial ability, processing speed, memory and reading ability. Firstly, a first-order measurement model examining independent contributions of the four cognitive domains was fitted; a significant relationship between TMT-B completion times and processing speed was found (β = −0.610, p < .001). Secondly, a bifactor model examined the unique influence of each cognitive ability when controlling for a general cognitive factor. Importantly, both a general cognitive factor (g; β = −0.561, p < .001) and additional g-independent variance from processing speed (β = −0.464, p < .001) contributed to successful TMT-B performance. These findings suggest that older adults' TMT-B performance is influenced by both general intelligence and processing speed, which may help understand poor performance on such tasks in clinical populations.

Can the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale assess perfeccionismo?

Although culture-based measurement bias threatens the validity of intergroup comparison research, measurement invariance is often assumed rather than demonstrated by researchers who draw conclusions about cross-cultural similarities or differences. The current article investigates the cross-cultural invariance of a popular measure of perfectionism, the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (F-MPS; Frost, Marten, Lahart, & Rosenblate, 1990) for a Hispanic/Latina sample. Perfectionism, which encompasses high goal setting and sensitivity to critical evaluation, is a transdiagnostic risk factor for internalizing psychopathology that especially warrants focus among groups burdened by mental health disparities. Multiple samples were used in a series of analyses to construct a baseline first-order measurement model and test for cross-group equivalence. For model development, confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were used with 320 female participants (Mage = 19.61 years) who identified primarily (n = 301) as European/European American. Measurement invariance testing was conducted with multigroup CFAs using another sample of female adults (n = 574; Mage = 21.21 years), identifying either as European/European American (n = 217) or Hispanic/Latina/Latin American (n = 357). Evidence was found for invariance across the revised F-MPS factor structure, pattern of factor loadings, and factor variances/covariances. Results indicate that predictive relationships may be compared across these groups, but caution is suggested when interpreting raw mean score differences due to intercept nonequivalence. Further, second-order model testing demonstrated support for the bidimensional model of perfectionism cross-culturally. Future research on perfectionism within the Latino/a population is encouraged using this equivalent item set. (PsycINFO Database Record

Student Subjective Wellbeing as a Predictor of Adolescent Problem Behaviors: a Comparison of First-Order and Second-Order Factor Effects

The present study investigated the predictive validity of two competing measurement models underlying the Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (SSWQ)—first-order and second-order—relative to several specific classes of adolescent problem behaviors: antisocial behavior, alcohol use, tobacco use, suicidal tendencies, nutrition habits, and school dropout. Analyses conducted with a sample or urban high-school students in Turkey (Grades 9–12, N = 374) demonstrated that the SSWQ’s first-order measurement model, which consisted of four fully-correlated factors (i.e., joy of learning, school connectedness, academic efficacy, and educational purpose), and second-order measurement model, which structured these four first-order factors as indicators of one second-order factor (i.e., student covitality), both indicated good data–model fit and strong internal reliability with the present sample. Additionally, results showed that both measurement models had substantive and relatively similar predictive power, characterized by moderate to large effect sizes, for accounting for the variance in all of the problem behaviors of interest. Findings regarding the predictive validity of the first-order measurement model further indicated that the predictive power of this model was primarily limited to two of the four students subjective wellbeing factors: academic efficacy and educational purpose. Implications for theory, practice, and future research are discussed.

A study to assess the reliability and construct validity of the Abbreviated Self-leadership Questionnaire: a South African study

Self-leadership has been recognised as a fundamental competency for effective learning and job performance. The primary goal of this study was to validate the Abbreviated Self-leadership Questionnaire on a South African sample. Numerous questionnaires have been developed to measure self-leadership, with the Revised Self-leadership Questionnaire being the most widely used questionnaire. However, the Revised Self-leadership Questionnaire has been deemed too long; hence, the authors abbreviated the measure. Therefore, there is a need to assess the reliability and construct validity of the abbreviated Self-leadership Questionnaire on a South African sample. A non-probability sample consisting of 400 students drawn from a university in the Western Cape was used. The reliability of the Abbreviated Self-leadership Questionnaire was evaluated using SPSS, while construct validity was assessed via confirmatory factory analyses in the LISREL program. Moderate levels of reliability were found for the subscales of the Abbreviated Self-leadership Questionnaire. Reasonable model fit with the data was found for the first-order measurement model. The study contributes to the requirements of the Amended Employment Equity Act of South Africa (Republic of South Africa, 1998) which promotes the use of reliable and valid instruments in South Africa by confirming the psychometric properties of the Abbreviated Self-leadership Questionnaire.

The relationship between self-efficacy, coping skill and substance use in adolescent: based on structural equation modeling

Background: This study was aimed to investigate interrelationships between the self-efficacy and coping skill in relation to substance use behavior in adolescent.Method: A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 720 girls and boys, aged between 14 and 18, involved in the cross-sectional study in Iran. In the first step, first-order measurement models were examined to assess how well the observed measures could reflect the latent constructs and in the second step, the structural component consisting of relationships between the latent factors was examined to determine the theoretical factors of the coping and self-efficacy predicted substance use behavior, as hypothesized.Result: The results of the first step revealed stable assessment of four confirmed factors in the first-order measurement model. In second step, the structural model of coping and self-efficacy showed an acceptable adequacy in predicting substance use behavior in the second-order model. Direct and indirect path analysis demonstrated that relationship between refusal self-efficacy and substance use would be mediated by the coping skill, and this relationship could significantly predict substance use behavior in our study.Conclusion: The results of our hypothesized model of coping self-efficacy (CSE) had an acceptable adequacy in predicting substance use behavior in adolescents.

Conceptualizing and validating organizational networking as a second-order formative construct

Based on an existing conceptualization in the literature, this study operationalizes the construct of organizational networking, through a rigorous two-stage scale construction and validation process. Organizational networking refers to firm behaviors, i.e. the activities/routines/practices, which enable an organization to make sense of and capitalize on their networks of direct and indirect business relationships. We conceptualize the measurement model as a second-order formative construct with four first-order reflective constructs based on a four-dimensional view of organizational networking comprising information acquisition, opportunity enabling, strong-tie resource mobilization and weak-tie resource mobilization. The scale validation was undertaken at the first- and second-order levels. The result confirms the four distinct first-order measurement models. At the second-order level, a MIMIC (multiple indicators and multiple causes) model was employed to assess the validity of the formative measurement model. The results suggest that all four components significantly contribute to the overarching construct of organizational networking, with strong-tie resource mobilization being the most important contributor. Thus, our operationalization confirms the uniqueness of the different dimensions of organizational networking that should be configured as a strategy of sensing and seizing opportunities in the network. The organizational networking scale will provide future research with a basis to explore different strategic patterns of networking behaviors in varying contexts, and its role in relation to other organizational behaviors and outcome variables, such as firm performance.

Modeling multisystem biological risk in later life: Allostatic load in the lothian birth cohort study 1936

To investigate and replicate a multisystem model of biological risk, or allostatic load, in a sample of generally healthy older adults. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA) was applied to data from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (n = 726). Blood samples were taken at a physical examination. Three markers of inflammation (fibrinogen, interleukin-6, and C-reactive protein), five metabolic markers (high- and low-density lipoprotein, body mass index, glycated hemoglobin, and triglyceride), and blood pressure (mean sitting systolic and diastolic blood pressure) were used to estimate a second-order CFA model of allostatic load. Our sample was split into those taking antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, lipid-lowering, and diabetes medications (n = 470), and those who were not (n = 256), in order to test the stability of the CFA model across groups. In the nonmedicated sample, a second-order allostatic load model showed good fit to the data. However, the second-order model failed to estimate in the medicated group. The factor correlations between blood pressure and inflammation and metabolism were smaller in magnitude in the medicated group. Invariance analysis on the first-order measurement model suggested significant differences across groups in the associations of low-density lipoprotein and HbA1c with metabolism. Reliable measurement of allostatic load is possible in ageing samples free of medications but is complicated in the presence of medications. MG-CFA represents a highly versatile method for the analysis of allostatic load.

Measurement Model Exploring a Syndemic in Emerging Adult Gay and Bisexual Men

The current study was designed to develop a better understanding of the nature of the relationships between mental health burden, drug use, and unprotected sexual behavior within a sample of emerging adult gay and bisexual men, ages 18-19 (N = 598) and to test a theory of syndemics using structural equation modeling. Participants were actively recruited from community-based settings and the Internet for participation in a seven-wave cohort study. Data for participant characteristics and mental health were collected via computer-assisted survey, while drug use and unprotected sex behaviors for the month prior to assessment were collected via a calendar-based technique. Using the baseline data, we developed and tested structural equation models for mental health burden, drug use, and unprotected sex and also tested a second-order model for a single syndemic. First-order measurement models for each of the three epidemics were successfully identified using observed data. Tests of a second-order model seeking to explain the three epidemics as a single syndemic fit poorly. However, a second-order construct comprised of mental health burden and drug use fit the data well and was highly associated with the first-order construct of unprotected sex. The findings advance a theory of syndemics and suggest that in order to be maximally effective both HIV prevention and HIV care must be delivered holistically such that sexual risk behaviors are addressed in relation to, and in sync with, the drug use and mental health of the individual.

Latent Structure of Self-Monitoring

Although the construct of self-monitoring has assumed a central role in the description and explanation of human social behavior, there is considerable disagreement about the performance of the Self-Monitoring Scale, the primary instrument for measuring individual differences in self-monitoring. The scale was originally designed to tap into a single source of variance; however, factor analyses have consistently demonstrated that the scale is factorially complex. Our review of published factor analyses of the Self-Monitoring Scale revealed evidence consistent with several different latent structures underlying responses to the scale's 25 items. In order to clarify the latent structure of the scale, we statistically compared, using the covariance structure model, first- and second-order measurement models suggested by previous factor analyses. We conducted parallel analyses for the original 25-item scale and a recently introduced 18-item version of the scale. None of the hypothesized models provided a compelling fit to the sample data (N= 1,113). The most favorable results were in support of a first-order measurement model with 18 indicators of three intercorrelated first-order latent variables. Moving from confirmatory to exploratory model testing, we were able to improve the fit of the best-fitting model by specifying a fourth latent variable indicated by items with which high self-monitors were expected to disagree. We discuss the implications of these results for the conceptualization of self-monitoring and for the role of factor analysis in the accumulation of knowledge about theoretical constructs.