Structural Equation Modeling Procedures Research Articles

Encouraging tourist citizenship behavior through resource uniqueness and service quality: The mediating role of emotions

Consumer citizenship behavior is widely considered to be vital to business success. However, the role of resource uniqueness and service quality in encouraging citizenship behavior in tourism settings has not been well understood. Grounded on a framework integrating the Stimulus-Organism-Response Model and Social Exchange Theory, this study examines whether tourism resource uniqueness and service quality affect tourists’ citizenship behaviors (i.e., word-of-mouth recommendations and providing feedback) through the mediating effect of tourist emotion (i.e., positive and negative emotions). A total of 321 samples collected from three types of scenic spots in China were analyzed using structural equation modeling and Bootstrapping procedures. Results suggest that both tourism resource uniqueness and service quality positively predict positive emotion and negatively influence negative emotion, which is further positively and negatively associated with word-of-mouth recommendation and providing feedback, respectively. Moreover, both positive emotion and negative emotion mediate the effects of tourism resource uniqueness and service quality on tourists’ citizenship behaviors. Findings provide evidence that both resource uniqueness and service quality are critical to understand tourists’ citizenship behavior, and offer important marketing implications for destinations to manage tourist emotional experiences.

Examination of Employee Motivation in Public Organizations

Motivation constitutes a central topic for business management, because of its critical impact on job performance. Therefore, understanding the dynamic mechanisms that organizations can use to promote and maintain employee motivation is of great interest for both scholars and practitioners. This study accordingly investigates how ethical and emotional forms of leadership might influence employee motivation and thus job performance. A survey-based study includes 607 employees working at public organizations, and the results of the structural equation modeling procedure indicate that both ethical and emotional leadership enhance employee motivation. In turn, employee motivation has a positive impact on job performance. The results also show that job performance exerts a negative effect on quitting intentions. Finally, interest in the private sector moderates the job performance–quitting intentions relationship. These findings provide theoretical contributions to extant literature, as well as important practical implications for managers.

Post-production decisions in agriculture: understanding postharvest storage and marketing decisions of smallholder farmers

This study uses the theory of reasoned action framework to explore smallholder farmers’ decisions surrounding grain storage and marketing in seven states of India. The study was conducted during one cropping season. It involved two interactions with the selected farmers: one household visit after sowing the crop and a telephone interview was held after harvesting the crop. The study seeks to understand the influence of different psycho-social factors on the decision of smallholder farmers to adopt storage as a strategic tool to increase their agricultural income from the same yield by leveraging price rises in markets during nonharvest months. Data were collected from 448 smallholder farmers from seven states in India to measure the constructs of attitudes, subjective norms, intention and action in the context of grain storage. Additionally, data on farmers’ progressiveness and innovativeness were collected in the study. The decision-model was calibrated using the structural equation modelling procedure. The multi-group analysis was carried out to estimate the moderation effect of farmers’ progressiveness and innovativeness in explaining their decision. The study establishes that attitudes and social norms around the deferment of postharvest sales are significant determinants of farmers’ intention to engage in grain storage. The progressiveness of a smallholder farmer accentuates the relationship between attitude and intention. There is evidence that the plan to store and market the produce at a later stage does not always convert into actual action. Farmers perceive storage as a risky business due to unpredictability around future prices. It is evident from the study that among positively predisposed smallholder farmers, innovative farmers with high risk-taking proclivities adopt storage as a strategic tool to increase their incomes more than their less innovative peers. The article discusses the policy implications of this study and suggests interventions that could facilitate the farmers to adopt storage as a measure to increase their agricultural income by taking advantage of price rises in markets during nonharvest months.

Understanding Needs Satisfaction and Frustration in Young Athletes: Factor Structure and Invariance Analysis.

Sports research has been focused on the assessment of basic needs satisfaction, considering its absence as a representation of needs frustration. However, recent findings have suggested needs satisfaction and frustration as asymmetrical factors leading to differentiated outcomes. An accurate measurement of needs poses itself as a crucial aspect, facilitating coaches’ understanding of athlete’s motivational processes. This study aimed to examine the psychometric proprieties of the Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS) in a sample of Portuguese athletes. A multigroup analysis was conducted of gender, sport type, age, and years of sports practice. Additionally, needs satisfaction and needs frustration were tested as predictors of behavioral regulations examining the nomological validity of the BPNSFS. Data from 594 Portuguese athletes (38.6% female; Mage = 15.21; SD = 0.97) that represent two different sports (football and swimming) were analyzed. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling procedures were followed to test the factor structure and nomological validity of the scale, respectively. Analyses indicated that the six-factor model provided an adequate fit (Comparative Fit Index = 0.947, Tucker–Lewis Index = 0.936, Standardized Root Mean Square = 0.039, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.048 (CI 90% = 0.043, 0.054)). Moreover, the multigroup analysis suggested invariance in the observed structure across groups. In addition, findings indicated a strong prediction between needs satisfaction and autonomous forms of motivation, whereas needs frustration predicted significantly controlled forms of motivation. The sport-adapted BPNSFS in a sample of Portuguese athletes seemed to be an adequate measure for the assessment of basic psychological needs satisfaction and frustration. Our findings suggested that this scale may be worth testing in future research in the sport context.

Exploring the relationship between employee engagement and its antecedents: the moderating role of smartphone use

PurposeThis study empirically verified employee engagement (EE) as an outcome of organizational communication and confirmed that the formation of EE is strengthened when smartphone use (SU) is at a higher level.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative approach was used in this research, whereby 408 valid samples were collected with an online survey. The hypotheses of direct effects were tested using the structural equation modeling (SEM) procedure, and the moderating effects were tested using the unconstrained product indicator method and the PROCESS macro.FindingsThe results showed that EE was significantly influenced by person–organizationvalue fit (POVF), transformational leadership (TFL) and job autonomy (JA), and the effects of POVF and TFL were moderated significantly by SU. Although the influence of social support (SS) on EE was insignificant in the full model, SU moderated the effect of SS. The evidence also showed that work–family conflict (WFC) had no negative impact on EE.Research limitations/implicationsThe participants of this study were restricted to a local area.Practical implicationsOrganizations should develop job designs via two-way communication to bring up EE and SU can facilitate the process.Originality/valuePrevious research has identified EE as an outcome of organizational communication, but this concept has not yet been empirically verified. This research provides evidence to verify the above-mentioned concept and additionally confirms the moderating role of SU.

Examining customer willingness to pay more for banking services: the role of employee commitment, customer involvement and customer value

PurposeAlthough scholars highlighted the need to close the interactive marketing gap and enhanced understanding of willingness to pay more in settings where customer participation in the service delivery process is paramount, research addressing this issue is scare. This study investigates the effect of perceived employee commitment to service delivery and customer involvement on customer value and willingness to pay more. The study also examines the extent to which customer value mediates the effect of employee commitment and customer involvement on willingness to pay more for banking services.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis was based on a sample of 211 Nigerian bank customers procured through a mall-intercept survey technique. The partial least squares structural equation modelling procedure and the Preacher–Hayes Bootstrapping technique aided hypotheses testing.FindingsThis study demonstrates that elements of employee commitment to service delivery and customer involvement have significant positive effect on the components of customer value. It also shows that customer value components have significant effect on customers' willingness to pay more. Additionally, the study shows that components of customer value mediate the effect of employee commitment to service delivery and customer involvement on willingness to pay more.Research limitations/implicationsThe study contributes to closing gaps in interactive marketing literature by uncovering how willingness to pay more for services is influenced by customer perceptions of employee commitment (affective and calculative) service delivery, customer involvement and customer value (hedonic and utilitarian).Practical implicationsIt is important for managers to put in place measures that will help them know the kind of commitment cues their employees are emitting to customers as well as levels of customer involvement during service encounters.Originality/valueThis study breaks new ground in three unique ways. First, the study represents the first attempt to examine the combined effect of employee commitment to service delivery and customer involvement on consumer value perceptions. Second, the study also demonstrates that hedonic value has a more pronounced effect on willingness to pay more for banking services than utilitarian value. Finally, the study shows the extent to which customer value (hedonic vs utilitarian) mediates the effect of employee commitment to service delivery and customer involvement on willingness to pay more.

The reincarnation of work motivation: Millennials vs older generations

This study examines generational differences in valuing the sources of motivation in workplace behaviour between millennials and older generations, with a view to assist managers in making employment decisions and maintaining multigenerational staff in the services sector. Based on systematically sampled data, the authors used Gagné et al.’s Multidimensional Work Motivational Scale (MWMS) to measure the different facets of work motivators alongside a three-item measure of employee overall work motivation (designed for this study) to address the hypotheses. Using structural equation modelling procedures to analyse the data, the authors found that four out of six motivators regress differently to overall work motivation. In other words, both extrinsic regulation–material and identified regulation are valued more by millennials compared to older generations, while extrinsic regulation–social and introjected regulation are valued less by millennials compared to older generations.

Examining the effect of customers’ perception of bank marketing communication on customer loyalty

Even though the banking industry across the globe has undergone tremendous transformations especially digitalisation, research has barely kept pace with these changes especially as it has to do with marketing communication strategies. Thus, this paper examined how customers’ perceptions of banks marketing communication tools influence customer loyalty. 313 valid responses were obtained from Nigerian bank customers through a survey questionnaire. The partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) procedure was utilised to examine the measurement model and test the research hypotheses. The results indicate that elements of bank marketing communication including advertising, sales promotion, public relations and personal selling are significant predictors of customer loyalty, but direct marketing is not. This study has implications for the update of marketing communication and formulation of customer loyalty policy in commercial banks in Nigeria and other emerging economies with similar business and economic history. The contributions of the study were discussed.

The bright and dark sides of social cyberloafing: Effects on employee mental health in China

Cyberloafing, the use of the Internet for non-work related activities, is widespread in the workplace. Although most research on cyberloafing concentrates on negative consequences for employees and organizations, studies have begun exploring its potential positive effects. This study contributes to that discussion by examining the impact of employee social cyberloafing on their mental health. We draw from ego-depletion theory and the effort-recovery model to develop a framework that explains social cyberloafing’s effects on two facets of employee mental health: fatigue and psychological detachment. Data from 375 Chinese employees were analyzed using a structural equation model and bootstrapping procedure. Results show that while social cyberloafing has a positive relationship with psychological detachment, it leads to employee fatigue. Moreover, psychological detachment positively and fatigue negatively mediate the relationship between social cyberloafing and mental health.

Management Characteristics as Determinants of Employee Creativity: The Mediating Role of Employee Job Satisfaction

Purpose/Research Question: Managers of organizations play a significant role in promoting sustainability by enhancing employee job satisfaction and employee creativity. Despite the number of studies on employee job satisfaction, much remains unknown regarding the mediating role of employee job satisfaction in the relationship between management characteristics (such as supervisor humility and abusive supervision) and employee creativity. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate how the links between supervisor humility, abusive supervision, and employee creativity are mediated by employee job satisfaction. Design/Methodology: We collected data from 352 highly skilled employees of manufacturing organizations in the Republic of Korea by conducting an online survey. A structural equation modeling procedure was used to evaluate the validity of the proposed hypotheses. Findings/Results: The results demonstrated that supervisor humility is positively related to employee job satisfaction, while abusive supervision is negatively related to employee job satisfaction. The findings also indicated that employee job satisfaction mediates the relationships between supervisor humility, abusive supervision, and employee creativity. Originality/Value: This work is the first to evaluate employee job satisfaction as a mediator of the link between characteristics of management (such as supervisor humility and abusive supervision) and employee creativity.

An evaluation of the integrative model for learning and motivation in the college classroom

Grounded in self-determination theory, the integrative model for learning and motivation examines how student motivational processes link to course outcomes, including perceived knowledge transferability. This investigation sought to evaluate the tenets of the integrative model that link the classroom climate, basic psychological needs satisfaction, and self-regulated motivation to perceived knowledge transferability. Participants included 4385 students (2185 females, 2200 males) enrolled in courses across a variety of disciplines at a large university in the U.S. Midwest. The students completed a cross-sectional survey, and the data analysis process proceeded using factor analytic and structural equation modeling procedures. Results indicate that the data were a good fit for the model, C3(342) = 6691.75, p < .001, RMSEA = .08, SRMR = .05, TLI = .94, CFI = .95. Developing student-centered learning environments is integral to enhancing motivation and perceptions of knowledge transferability through the satisfaction of students’ need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

The Influence of Attitude to Money on Individuals’ Financial Well-Being

Individuals’ financial well-being has been recognised as an important concern to reach individuals’ general well-being and societal welfare. In this context, understanding how individuals can ensure a good state of financial well-being is a critical question. However, previous studies have not paid enough attention to underlying the mechanisms by which individuals achieve financial well-being. The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of attitude to money on individuals’ financial well-being, placing the emphasis on the intervention of financial planning horizon, risk tolerance and individuals’ actual financial behaviour. Using Structural Equation Modelling and Process Procedure for SPSS, empirical evidence for a sample of 8554 Spanish individuals largely supports the proposed hypotheses. Indeed, it suggests that individuals’ attitude to money influences actual financial behaviour, besides planning horizon and risk tolerance, that both exert an influence over actual financial behaviour, and this, ultimately, influences individuals’ financial well-being. This study ends up by presenting the main implications of these findings.

Examining the usage of Instagram as a source of information for young consumers when determining tourist destinations

Background: Online social networking websites have revolutionised communication in the postmodern era of today. Specifically, Instagram has witnessed a phenomenal growth, and the site is particularly popular with young consumers in South Africa. Instagram is seen by this cohort as a source of information to determine their tourism destinations. Objectives: This research examined how perceived usefulness of Instagram, perceived ease of use of Instagram and perceived credibility of Instagram influence attitude towards the use of Instagram, intent on using Instagram and actual use of Instagram to identify tourist destinations amongst young consumers. Method: A survey questionnaire was administered to 349 young student consumers who were based in the Johannesburg Metropolitan area of the Gauteng province, South Africa. A structural equation modelling procedure was utilised in testing the proposed relationships. Results: The results indicate that all the hypotheses suggested have been positive and significant. It is worth noting that there was the strongest connection between attitude towards Instagram for identifying travel destinations and intention to use Instagram for identifying travel destinations. Conclusion: Tourism organisation marketers may be able to devote time in researching the practicality of using Instagram to increase awareness of tourist locations.

School Engagement and Well-Being in Adolescents: Mediating Roles of Hope and Social Competence

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between school engagement, well-being, hope, and social competence. Participants consisted of 322 secondary school students in Turkey [172 females (53.4%) and 150 males (46.6%)]. The participants’ ages ranged from 11 to 15. Data were collected via School Engagement Scale, Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, Children’s Hope Scale, and Perceived Social Competence Scale. The relations between variables were examined by structural equation modelling and bootstrapping procedure. The structural equation modelling indicated that hope and social competence fully mediate the association between school engagement and well-being. The results of the bootstrapping analysis confirmed the significance of indirect effects. The result of the study has provided an understanding of the psychosocial factors that may contribute to school engagement and well-being. It is considered that the results of this study will contribute to the literature on positive psychology and educational psychology. Result, implications and limitations were discussed.

A predictive model of fear of cancer recurrence for patients undergoing chemotherapy.

A number of cancer patients experience fear of cancer recurrence (FCR), which affects their psychological adjustment. This study tested the hypothesized model of FCR to predict psychological adjustment in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. A total of 203 patients, who had been diagnosed with either breast cancer or colorectal cancer and were undergoing chemotherapy, were recruited from two university hospitals in Seoul, Korea. Data were collected using validated questionnaires and were analyzed using SPSS 24.0 and AMOS 25.0 program for structural equation modeling procedures. The fit index of the hypothesized model was appropriate. Symptom distress, contextual factors, FCR, and illness representations had statistically significant direct, indirect, and total effects on psychological adjustment. These variables explained 76% of the total variance of the psychological adjustment in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Fear of cancer recurrence was a mediating factor for the effects of symptom distress, contextual factors, and illness representation on psychological adjustment. Based on these results, interventions aimed at reducing symptom distress and FCR, and improving social support, optimism, and illness representations, may be useful for the successful psychological adjustment of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Corporate culture, management commitment, and HRM effect on operation performance: The mediating role of just-in-time

The motivation of this study is to analyze the impact of corporate culture, management commitment, and Human resources management on operational performance and the mediating effect on those relationships from JIT implementation. A questionnaire-based survey was used to investigate the research questions. Data from a sample of 410 manufacturing plants were analyzed using a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) procedure. Study findings unveil direct effect running from corporate culture, management commitment, HRM, and JIT to operational performance. Considering the indirect effect i.e. the mediating role of JIT, findings suggesting that there is partial mediation available in the estimation. On the other hand, the direct effects of corporate culture, management commitment, and HRM on JIT is positive and statistically significant. It is advocated that the effective implementation of JIT in manufacturing units can contribute to increasing operational performance side by side the presence of other key organizational attributes.

Latent Growth Curve Model Evaluation of Illicit Substance and Tobacco Use among Young Adults in Cumberland County, North Carolina

Aim: Young adulthood is a period when individuals experiment health risk substances such as illicit substance and tobacco use that may predispose them to sexually transmitted diseases. Minority young adults living in HIV prevalent urban communities are notably more likely to engage in these behaviors. In the United States, minority young adults over-represented with HIV infection. To resolve this problem, the United States Congress has invested over $100million in grants. In the United States, few studies have examined illicit substance and tobacco use among this vulnerable population. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a comprehensive HIV prevention program (CIHPP) on illicit substance and tobacco use among minority young adults living in a high prevalence of HIV infection urban community. Methods: The data of illicit substance and tobacco use was collected using a survey of a random sample of minority young adults who participated in the CIHPP. for12-months. Change in illicit substance and tobacco use during 24 months of minority young adults' participation in CIHPP was recorded. The data was analyzed using the latent growth curve (LGC) model within the framework of the structural equation modeling procedure. The evaluation included the change in the intercept and slope of the Mean, Variance, covariance, and predictor variable in three waves for 24months. Result: The average score for illegal substance use of 5.411 decreased significantly over the 24months. Young adults exhibited a low rate of increase in their illicit use substance over the 24months. This finding indicates that the CIHPP was effective in decreasing the substance use of young adults under study. There were significant inter individual differences in the original score of illicit substance use between the young adults at the beginning of the implementation of the CIHPP and its change over time, as the as the minority young adult progressed from the beginning of the CIHPP intervention through the 24 months. Using gender as a predictor of change showed no difference between male and female young adults. For tobacco use, the average score for tobacco (16.631) decreased significantly over the three 24months. There was no meaningful difference between minority young adult males and minority young adult females in illicit substances use at the beginning of CIHPP. However, during CIHPP intervention, minority young adult’s males had an increase in the rate of change in tobacco use than minority young adult females. The mean estimate for tobacco use indicates that the average score for tobacco use increased significantly over the three 12-months periods. The covariance between the intercept and slope factor for tobacco use was statistically significant. Minority young adult males exhibited a higher rate of tobacco use than their female counterparts over the 24 months. This finding suggests that the Comprehensive, integrated HIV prevention program was not effective in decreasing the tobacco use of the minority young adults studied, The variance estimate related 2 Annals of Immunology &amp; Immunotherapy Mongkuo MY, et al. Latent Growth Curve Model Evaluation of Illicit Substance and Tobacco Use among Young Adults in Cumberland County, North Carolina. Ann Immunol Immunother 2020, 2(2): 000124. Copyright© Mongkuo MY, et al. to the intercept and slope for tobacco use is statistically significant (p=.001) suggesting that there were vast inter-individual differences both at the beginning of CIHPP and the rate of change of tobacco use between the minority young adults at the beginning of the implementation of the CIHPP and its rate of change over time, as the young adult progressed from the beginning of the CIHPP intervention through the 24months. Such evidence provides sturdy support for further investigation of variability or heterogeneity related to the growth trajectory. Specifically, the incorporation of time-invariant of change into the model can explain the young adults' tobacco use variability. This incorporation involves testing the latent growth curve model with the demographic or static variable as a time-invariant predictor of change. This study incorporated gender in the LGC model as a predictor of change. The prediction module with gender as predictor found that there was no meaningful difference in illicit substance and tobacco use between minority young adult males and females.

The effect of product complexity and communication quality on IOCM and OBA in buyer– supplier relationships

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the effect of product complexity and communication quality on inter-organizational cost management (IOCM) and open book accounting (OBA) practices in buyer–supplier relationships in Malaysian manufacturing firms. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was administrated to CFOs or accounting managers of Malaysian suppliers. Exploratory factor analysis and Structural Equation Modeling procedures were applied to test convergent and discriminant validity of the measurement model and examine the relationships among the latent constructs in the structural model. Findings The results suggest that IOCM and OBA scales show acceptable reliability and validity. The findings also report that both product complexity and communication quality have a positive effect on IOCM and OBA in buyer–supplier relationships. However, the results suggest that IOCM does not influence OBA practice. Research limitations/implications Although IOCM and OBA constructs exhibited satisfactory reliability and validity, future research is required to refine and further validate these constructs. The data were only collected from the supplier’s perspective. Thus, future research is invited to benefit from matched data from both suppliers and buyers to generate additional insights on IOCM and OBA. Practical implications This study may assist suppliers and buyers in relationships by suggesting that complex products require the adoption of IOCM and OBA practices to reduce information asymmetries and manage costs. Furthermore, emphasizing quality of communication may enhance the implementation of these practices. Originality/value Theoretically, this study contributes to the academic stream of management accounting and cost management as it enhances an understanding of contributions introduced in prior literature on IOCM and OBA. It uses a complementary approach of transaction cost theory (TCT) and social exchange theory (SET) to explain the research model. Methodologically, the study validated scales for measuring IOCM and OBA in a new environment.

Caring for the mental health of humanitarian volunteers in traumatic contexts: the importance of organisational support

ABSTRACT Background: Humanitarian workers operate in traumatic contexts, putting them at an increased risk of adverse mental health outcomes. The quality of the support they receive from their organization, their supervisor, and team members are proposed as determinants of mental illness and well-being, via the stress-appraisal process. Objective: Grounded in organizational support theory, we sought to understand the relationship between organizational factors, including perceived organizational support, supervisor support, and team support, and indicators of both adverse mental health and mental well-being among humanitarian volunteers. This relationship is hypothesized to be mediated by the perceived psychological stress. Methods: A sample of 409 humanitarian volunteers from the Sudanese Red Crescent Society completed an online, anonymous, survey comprised of the Perceived Supervision, Perceived Organizational Support, Team Support, and Perceived Psychological Stress scales, as well as the Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Patient Health Questionnaire scales, (GAD-7 and PHQ- 8), and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale. Study objectives were tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) procedures. Results: Perceived helplessness (PH) and perceived self-efficacy (PSE), as measures of psychological stress, were both found to fully mediate the relationship between perceived organizational support and mental health outcomes. Perceived organizational support was associated with PSE and inversely with PH. PH was associated with adverse mental health and inversely related to mental well-being. PSE was only associated with mental well-being. Perceived supervision was negatively associated with PSE. Conclusions: Perceived organizational support is a key determinant of the mental health of humanitarian volunteers, with greater perceived support associated with lower distress symptomology and greater mental well-being. Humanitarian agencies should take actions to improve their internal organization support systems to mitigate the stress associated with working in traumatic contexts. Specifically, more attention should be paid to the organizational support of the volunteers as front-line workers in humanitarian settings.

Can adolescents differentiate between depression, anxiety and stress? Testing competing models of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21)

The present study used the Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) procedure and a bifactor-ESEM framework to evaluate the construct validity of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) among adolescents. We also evaluated measurement invariance and latent mean differences across gender and age, and investigated the convergent validity of DASS-21 by examining relationships with positive and negative affect. A total of 1906 adolescents (60.7% females, Mage = 16.54) completed the DASS-21, whereas 998 adolescents (62.6% females; Mage = 16.98) completed both the DASS-21 and a measure of positive and negative affect. The results showed that the bifactor-ESEM model was the best representation of the data and this model proved to be invariant across gender and age. The findings indicated a strong general factor of emotional distress underlying responses to all DASS-21 items, but also suggested that Depression and Anxiety subscales possess substantial amount of specificity over and above the general factor. The Stress subscale showed little specificity after partialling out the general factor. Depression subscale explained variance of both positive and negative affect over and above the variance already explained by the general factor, whereas the Anxiety and Stress subscales did not. Our findings show that a bifactor-ESEM framework is a valuable tool for examining structural validity of DASS-21.