The Statistical Anxiety Rating Scale: Further Evidence for Multidimensionality

2010 ◽  
Vol 107 (3) ◽  
pp. 977-982 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsung-Yuan Hsiao
Keyword(s):  
Rating Scale ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Competing Models ◽  
Attitudes Toward Statistics ◽  
Order Factor ◽  
Item Scores ◽  
Class Anxiety

The Statistical Anxiety Rating Scale has been conceptualized as multidimensional. Three of the six theoretical dimensions, Interpretation Anxiety, Test and Class Anxiety, and Fear of Asking for Help, tap anxiety about statistics; the other three dimensions, Worth of Statistics, Computation Self-concept, and Fear of Statistics Teachers, measure perceptions and attitudes toward statistics. This conceptualization of a second-order factor model consisting of two superordinate factors and six first-order factors has remained empirically untested. In 77 graduate students (15 men, 62 women; M age = 27.6 yr.) enrolled in applied statistics courses in Taiwan, a confirmatory factor analysis of two competing models based on subscale scores yielded results supporting the multidimensional construct validity of the scale. As multidimensionality was previously supported based on item scores, but not subscale scores, the findings are interpreted as partially consistent with previous research testing the theoretical factor structure of the scale.

Pervasive Developmental Disorders Rating Scale: Development and Construct Validity

2005 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-257
Author(s):  
Thomas O. Williams ◽  
Ronald C. Eaves
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analysis ◽  
Construct Validity ◽  
Autistic Disorder ◽  
Pervasive Developmental Disorders ◽  
Developmental Disorders ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Competing Models

The Pervasive Developmental Disorders Rating Scale was designed for use in screening of pervasive developmental disorders. This paper describes the rationale and development of the scale and assesses its construct validity with ratings from a sample of 362 children ranging in age from 1 to 12 years and diagnosed with autistic disorder. The hypothesized heirarchical factor model and two competing models were examined through confirmatory factor analysis. The analysis supported the factor structure of the hypothesized model in this particular sample of children with autistic disorder. Limitations and areas for research are discussed.

scholarly journals Modeling the Spearman's Hypothesis using MGCFA - The Woodcock-Johnson data

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Hu
Keyword(s):  
Factor Model ◽  
Good Deal ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Competing Models ◽  
Order Factor ◽  
Better Than ◽  
High Order Factor ◽  
Model Approach ◽  
Woodcock Johnson

There has been a good deal of research on Spearman’s hypothesis with regard to Black-White differences in tests of cognitive ability. Most of the research has relied on Jensen’s Method of Correlated Vectors (Jensen, 1998). This method, however, is incapable of rigorously testing competing models that do not involve group differences in g (Dolan, 2000, Dolan & Hamaker, 2001). The purpose of the present paper is to test Spearman’s hypothesis using Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis applied to three waves of Woodcock-Johnson standardization data. First, using Jensen’s MCV, it is found, for all three standardization waves, that there is a Jensen effect, i.e., positive correlation between the subtests’ g-loadings and the Black-White differences. Secondly, while measurement invariance (MI) was generally found to hold, results from MGCFA using either the high-order-factor or the bi-factor model approach could not reliably confirm that the Spearman’s model fits better than the contra-Spearman’s model. Tentative explanations are provided.

Reliability and validity of the Statistical Anxiety Scale among students in Singapore and Australia

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter K. H. Chew ◽  
Denise B. Dillon
Keyword(s):  
Rating Scale ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Anxiety Scale ◽  
Statistics Anxiety ◽  
Psychology Programs ◽  
James Cook ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Attitudes Toward Statistics ◽  
Positive Correlations

Given the negative relationships between statistics anxiety and statistics achievement, it is important for researchers and instructors to have a reliable and valid measure to identify students with statistics anxiety. The purpose of the current study was to examine the psychometric properties of Vigil-Colet, Lorenzo-Seva, and Condon's (2008) Statistical Anxiety Scale (SAS) among students in Singapore and Australia. Unlike the commonly used Statistical Anxiety Rating Scale, the SAS provides a specific measure of statistics anxiety. Participants were 197 undergraduates (79.2% female) in the James Cook University Psychology programs at the Singaporean (70.1%) and Australian (29.9 %) campuses. Acceptable internal consistency reliabilities, ranging from 0.88 to 0.95 for the three factors of the SAS, were found in the current study. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that a modified three-factor model best describe the data. Scores on the SAS shared positive correlations with another measure of statistics anxiety, and negative correlations with a measure of attitudes toward statistics. The results provided support for the use of the SAS among Singaporean and Australian psychology undergraduates.

Development of an Empathy Rating Scale for Young Children

Assessment ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 107319112110386
Author(s):  
Eva R. Kimonis ◽  
Natasha Jain ◽  
Bryan Neo ◽  
Georgette E. Fleming ◽  
Nancy Briggs
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Parent Report ◽  
Personal Distress ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Empathy Scale ◽  
Item Scores ◽  
Amazon's Mechanical Turk

Empathy is critical to young children’s socioemotional development and deficient levels characterize a severe and pervasive type of Conduct Disorder (i.e., with limited prosocial emotions). With the emergence of novel, targeted early interventions to treat this psychopathology, the critical limitations of existing parent-report empathy measures reveal their unsuitability for assessing empathy levels and outcomes in young children. The present study aimed to develop a reliable and comprehensive parent-rated empathy scale for young children. This was accomplished by first generating a large list of empathy items sourced from both preexisting empathy measures and from statements made by parents during a clinical interview about their young child’s empathy. Second, this item set was refined using exploratory factor analysis of item scores from parents of children aged 2 to 8 years (56.6% male), recruited online using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. A five-factor solution provided the best fit to the data: Attention to Others’ Emotions, Personal Distress (i.e., Emotional Contagion/Affective Empathy), Personal Distress–Fictional Characters, Prosocial Behavior, and Sympathy. Total and subscale scores on the new “Measure of Empathy in Early Childhood” (MEEC) were internally consistent. Finally, this five-factor structure was tested using confirmatory factor analysis and model fit was adequate. With further research into the validity of MEEC scores, this new rater-based empathy measure for young children may hold promise for assessing empathy in early childhood and advancing research into the origins of empathy and empathy-related disorders.

scholarly journals Can We Compare Solidarity Across Europe? What, Why, When, and How to Assess Exact and Approximate Equivalence of First- and Second-Order Factor Models

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera Lomazzi
Keyword(s):  
Factor Model ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Alignment Method ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Political Values ◽  
First Order ◽  
Measurement Models ◽  
European Values ◽  
Order Factor

Although measurement invariance is widely considered a precondition for meaningful cross-sectional comparisons, substantive studies have often neglected evaluating this assumption, thereby risking drawing conclusions and making theoretical generalizations based on misleading results. This study offers a theoretical overview of the key issues concerning the measurement and the comparison of socio-political values and aims to answer the questions of what must be evaluated, why, when, and how to assess measurement equivalence. This paper discusses the implications of formative and reflective approaches to the measurement of socio-political values and introduces challenges in their comparison across different countries. From this perspective, exact and approximate approaches to equivalence are described as well as their empirical translation in statistical techniques, such as the multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) and the frequentist alignment method. To illustrate the application of these methods, the study investigates the construct of solidarity as measured by European Values Study (EVS) and using data collected in 34 countries in the last wave of the EVS (2017–2020). The concept is captured through a battery of nine items reflecting three dimensions of solidarity: social, local, and global. Two measurement models are hypothesized: a first-order factor model, in which the three independent dimensions of solidarity are correlated, and a second-order factor model, in which solidarity is conceived according to a hierarchical principle, and the construct of solidarity is reflected in the three sub-factors. In testing the equivalence of the first-order factor model, the results of the MGCFA indicated that metric invariance was achieved. The alignment method supported approximate equivalence only when the model was reduced to two factors, excluding global solidarity. The second-order factor model fit the data of only seven countries, in which this model could be used to study solidarity as a second-order concept. However, the comparison across countries resulted not appropriate at any level of invariance. Finally, the implications of these results for further substantive research are discussed.

scholarly journals Investigation of the Statistical Anxiety Rating Scale Psychometric Properties with a Sample of Greek Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 116
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Lavidas ◽  
Dionysios Manesis ◽  
Vasilios Gialamas
Keyword(s):  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Discriminant Validity ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Statistics Anxiety ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Convergent And Discriminant Validity ◽  
Confirmatory Factor

The purpose of this study was to adapt the Statistics Anxiety Rating Scale (STARS) for a Greek student population. The STARS was administered to 890 Tertiary Education students in two Greek universities. It was performed a cross-validation study to examine the factorial structure and the psychometric properties with a series of confirmatory factor analyses. Results revealed a correlated six first-order factor model which provided the best fit to the data compared to a six-factor model with one superordinate factor. All six factors of the Greek version of the STARS presented convergent and discriminant validity and were internally consistent. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Sternberg Triarchic Abilities Test in Three International Samples

2001 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Sternberg ◽  
J.L. Castejón ◽  
M.D. Prieto ◽  
Jarkko Hautamäki ◽  
Elena L. Grigorenko
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analysis ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
The United States ◽  
Underlying Structure ◽  
School Students ◽  
Theory Of Intelligence ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Order Factor

Summary: In the current study we compare different theoretical models of the underlying structure of the STAT (Sternberg Triarchic Abilities Test), Level-H, by using the techniques of confirmatory factor analysis on a combined sample of 3278 school students from the United States, Finland, and Spain. The results of the comparison of a number of models - using the strategy of hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis (HCFA) and comparing nested and alternative models, specified under different assumed theories relative to a unidimensional concept of general intelligence, a traditional factorial concept, and a triarchic model - illustrate that the second-order factor model based on the triarchic theory of intelligence achieves the best (albeit far from perfect) fit to the empirical data.

Validation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey on a Representative Sample of Dominican Teachers: Normative Data

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
José M. Tomás ◽  
Saturnino de los Santos ◽  
Alicia Alonso-Andres ◽  
Irene Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Exhaustion ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Representative Sample ◽  
Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽  
Personal Accomplishment ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
General Survey ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Caribbean Spanish ◽  
Competing Models

AbstractBurnout is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and lack of personal accomplishment (Bakke, Demerouti, & Sanz-Vergel, 2014). Several instruments for its measurement exist, but the most widely used scale for measuring its dimensions, by far, is the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) in its different versions. Among the available versions of the scale, the MBI-General Survey was developed to measure three dimensions of burnout (cynicism, personal accomplishment, and emotional exhaustion) regardless of the type of work. The aim of this research is to offer evidence on the psychometric properties of the MBI-GS for its use in the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean Spanish-speaking countries, using representative sample of Dominican teachers. The factorial validity was studied through confirmatory factor analysis. Several competing models were proved in order to test the dimensionality of the scale. The confirmatory analyses shown that the original three-factor structure had a superior fit, but item eleven was removed in order to get an excellent fit χ2(87) = 211.19, p < .001, CFI = .98, RMSEA = .038 90% CI [.032–.045]. Regarding internal consistency, the CRI´s are well above the cut-off criteria of .7 (CRI’s ranged from .74 to .86). Concerning criterion-related validity, the three factors were correlated in the expected direction. Professional efficacy, a dimension of burnout measured in the opposite direction, was positively correlated with the three factors of work engagement, also as expected. This version was found to be a psychometrically sound measure of the three core dimensions of burnout.

Reliability and Factor Structure in an Adolescent Sample of the Dutch 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale

2012 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 393-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reitske Meganck ◽  
Samuel Markey ◽  
Stijn Vanheule
Keyword(s):  
Factor Model ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Toronto Alexithymia Scale ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Adolescent Sample ◽  
Order Factor ◽  
Tas 20

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS–20) in an adolescent sample ( N = 406, ages 12 to 17). This is rarely done even though the TAS–20 is used in adolescent research. Five published factor models were tested. For good fitting models, a second-order model with alexithymia as a higher-order factor and metric invariance across sex and age groups was tested. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the original three-factor model and a four-factor model provided acceptable fit. Both models were invariant across sex, but not across age. Second-order models did not provide good fit. Reliability was good for the “Difficulty identifying feelings” subscale and acceptable for the “Difficulty describing feelings” subscale, but not for the “Externally oriented thinking” subscale. Measuring alexithymia with the TAS–20 in adolescents thus seems problematic, especially in younger age groups.

Testing the Psychometric Properties of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) in Chile

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 179-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Maria Fernández ◽  
Michele Dufey ◽  
Uwe Kramp
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Reactivity Index ◽  
Interpersonal Reactivity Index ◽  
Psychological Constructs ◽  
Theoretical Structure ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Order Factor ◽  
Comparison Of The Results

The psychometric properties of Davis’ (1980) Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) in Chile were assessed. The IRI was applied to a sample of 435 college students. Appropriate internal consistencies and test-retest stability resulted. The instrument’s validity was evidenced by the interrelations among the scales, in addition to its correlations in the predicted direction to other related psychological constructs, and sex differences emerged in three of its dimensions. A confirmatory factor analysis corroborated the theoretical structure of the IRI in Chile, and the suitability of both the four-factor model and a second order factor that integrates three of the dimensions . The implications and comparison of the results with other adaptations of the IRI are discussed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document