Barbara M. Byrne

Testing for Multigroup Invariance Using AMOS Graphics: A Road Less Traveled

The purpose of this article is to illustrate the steps involved in testing for multigroup invariance using Amos Graphics. Based on analysis of covariance (ANCOV) structures, 2 applications are demonstrated, each of which represents a different set of circumstances. Application 1 focuses on the equivalence of a measuring instrument and tests for its invariance across 3 teacher panels, given baseline models that are identical across groups. Application 2 centers on the equivalence of a postulated theoretical structure across adolescent boys and girls in light of baseline models that are differentially specified across groups. Taken together, these illustrated examples should be of substantial assistance to researchers interested in testing for multigroup invariance using the Amos program.

A Multifaceted Academic Self-Concept: Its Hierarchical Structure and Its Relation to Academic Achievement

Academic self-concept, originally posited by Shavelson as a single higher-order facet, was found by Marsh and Shavelson to comprise at least two higher-order academic facets (verbal and math). Marsh developed the internal/external (I/E) frame of reference model to account for the extreme separation of math and verbal self-concepts and their relations to math and verbal achievements. In our investigation, students completed the academic self-concept scales from three different instruments that were the basis of two studies. In the first study, the two higher order academic factors posited by Marsh and Shavelson fit the data substantially better than did a single higher order facet. In subsequent discussion, the Marsh/Shavelson model is more clearly defined, and directions for further research are identified. The second study provided further support for the I/E frame of reference model in that (a) verbal and math self-concepts were nearly uncorrelated, (b) verbal achievement positively affected verbal self-concept but negatively affected math selfconcept (i.e., higher verbal skills led to lower math self-concepts), (c) math achievement positively affected math self-concept but negatively affected verbal self-concept, and (d) the results were consistent for each of three self-concept instruments. Both studies demonstrate that in further research at least verbal and math self-concepts, rather than a single general facet of academic self-concepts, should be considered.

Measuring self-concept across the life span: Issues and instrumentation.

Measuring Self-Concept: The Conceptual Issues Measuring Self-Concept: The Psychometric Issues Search for and Selection of Self-Concept Measures Measures of Self-Concept for Young Children: Measurement of General Self-Concept: Joseph Pre-School and Primary Self-Concept Screening Test Measurement of Multidimensional Self-Concepts: The Pictoral Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance Measures of Self-Concept for Preadolescents: Measurement of Specific Self-Concepts: Academic Self Description Questionnaire I Perception of Ability Scale for Students Measurement of Multidimensional Self-Concepts Multidimensional Self-Concept Scale Pier-Harris Childrens Self-Concept Scale Self Description Questionnaire I Self-Perception Profile for Children Measures of Self-Concept for Adolescents: Measurement of Specific Self-Concepts: Academic Self Description Questionnaire II Dimensions of Self-Concept Physical Self Description Questionnaire Self-Esteem Scale Measurement of Multidimensional Self-Concepts: Multidimensional Self-Concept Scale Pier-Harris Childrens Self-Concept Scale Self Description Questionnaire II Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents Tennessee Self-Concept Scale Measures of Self-Concept for Adults: Measurement of Specific Self-Concepts: Dimension of Self-Concept Body Esteem Scale Physical Self-Perception Profile Self-Esteem Scale Measurement of Multidimensional Self-Concepts: Adult Self-Perception Profile Self Description Questionnaire III Self-Perception Profile for College Students Tennessee Self-Concept Scale The Self-Perception Genesis Method Measures of Self-Concept for Special Populations The Learning Disabled Self-Perception Profile for Learning Disabled Students Perception of Ability Scale for Students The Hearing Impaired: Self-Concept Scale for the Hearing-Impaired Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (Revised) Self-Concept Measurement: State-of-the-Art and Future Directions Arts Self-Perception Inventory Music Self-Perception Inventory Reading Self-Concept Scale.

Structural Equation Modeling With AMOS, EQS, and LISREL: Comparative Approaches to Testing for the Factorial Validity of a Measuring Instrument

Using a confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) model as a paradigmatic basis for all comparisons, this article reviews and contrasts important features related to 3 of the most widely-used structural equation modeling (SEM) computer programs: AMOS 4.0 (Arbuckle, 1999), EQS 6 (Bentler, 2000), and LISREL 8 (Joreskog & Sorbom, 1996b). Comparisons focus on (a) key aspects of the programs that bear on the specification and testing of CFA models-preliminary analysis of data, and model specification, estimation, assessment, and misspecification; and (b) other important issues that include treatment of incomplete, nonnormally-distributed, or categorically-scaled data. It is expected that this comparative review will provide readers with at least a flavor of the approach taken by each program with respect to both the application of SEM within the framework of a CFA model, and the critically important issues, previously noted, related to data under study.

Burnout: Testing for the Validity, Replication, and Invariance of Causal Structure Across Elementary, Intermediate, and Secondary Teachers

The study investigated the impact of organizational (role ambiguity, role conflict, work overload, classroom climate, decision making, superior support,’ peer support) and personality (self-esteem, external locus of control) factors on three facets of burnout—Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and reduced Personal Accomplishment within one conceptual framework. Participants were full-time elementary (n = 1203), intermediate (n = 410), and secondary teachers (n = 1431). A hypothesized model of burnout was first tested and crossvalidated for each teaching panel; common causal paths were then tested for group-invariance. Results were consistent across groups in revealing the importance of (a) role conflict, work overload, classroom climate, decision making, and peer support as organizational determinants of teacher burnout, (b) self-esteem and external locus of control as important mediators of teacher burnout, and (c) the absence of role ambiguity and superior support in the causal process. Findings demonstrated that interpretations of burnout as a undimensional construct are not meaningful.

Measurement equivalence: A comparison of methods based on confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory

Current interest in the assessment of measurement equivalence emphasizes 2 major methods of analysis. The authors offer a comparison of a linear method (confirmatory factor analysis) and a nonlinear method (differential item and test functioning using item response theory) with an emphasis on their methodological similarities and differences. The 2 approaches test for the equality of true scores (or expected raw scores) across 2 populations when the latent (or factor) score is held constant. Both approaches can provide information about when measurement nonequivalence exists and the extent to which it is a problem. An empirical example is used to illustrate the 2 approaches.

The Issue Of Measurement Invariance Revisited

The purposes of this study were twofold: (a) based on the analysis of covariance structures, to test for the equivalence of a well-known measuring instrument across two culturally diverse groups and (b) provided with findings of nonequivalent items, to identify possible determinants of their noninvariance; post hoc investigations included tests for evidence of item bias using an ANOVA-based approach and examination of graphical displays of item response and distributional patterns. Example data comprised item responses to the four nonacademic subscales of the Self Description Questionnaire I (SDQ-I) for Australian (N = 497) and Nigerian (N = 439) adolescents. Despite similarly specified and well-fitting factor structures for both cultural groups, findings revealed evidence of both measurement and structural noninvariance. Results underscore previous caveats regarding interpretation of instrument equivalence; they add also to the growing body of skepticism that queries whether measuring instruments can ever be totally equivalent when used in cross-cultural comparisons.

Cross-Cultural Comparisons and the Presumption of Equivalent Measurement and Theoretical Structure: A Look Beneath the Surface

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate, paradigmatically, the extent to which item score data can vary across cultures despite measurements from an instrument for which the factorial structure is equivalently specified in each group. Based on item scores from the Beck Depression Inventory, the authors first tested for the group invariance of factorial structure and then examined the patterns of item score distributions and response frequencies across Canadian (n = 658), Swedish (n = 1,096), and Bulgarian (n = 691) high school adolescents. Findings carry important implications for multigroup comparisons research in general, and for cross-cultural research in particular, where the primary interest focuses on testing for mean group differences.

Teacher's Corner: The MACS Approach to Testing for Multigroup Invariance of a Second-Order Structure--A Walk through the Process.

The overarching intent of this article is to exemplify strategies associated with tests for measurement invariance that are uncommonly applied and reported in the extant literature. Designed within a pedagogical framework, the primary purposes are 3-fold and illustrate (a) tests for measurement invariance based on the analysis of means and covariance structures (MACS), (b) use of the MACS approach in testing for an invariant higher order factor structure, and (c) tests for latent mean differences relative to both levels of a higher order factor structure. Addressing additional application limitations, the secondary purposes are 2-fold and illustrate (a) determination of invariance based on two substantially different sets of criteria and (b) interpretation of noninvariant measurement items within the context of an item response theory perspective. We are hopeful that readers will find the didactic approach to be helpful in gaining a better understanding of the invariance-testing process.

On the Structure of Adolescent Self-Concept

The purposes of the study were (a) to test assumptions underlying the multifaceted, hierarchical structure of self-concept (SC) as hypothesized by Shavelson, Hubner, and Stanton (1976) and (b) to determine whether academic SC can be discriminated from academic grades. In the process, we examined SC interpretations of the Self Description Questionnaire III (SDQ III) and the Affective Perception Inventory (API), two relatively new measures. With 991 (516 young men and 475 young women) 1 lth- and 12th-grade students and multiple measures of general, academic, English, and mathematics SC facets, we found support for a multifaceted, hierarchical interpretation, with one minor exception. A single dimension of academic SC, as well as subject-specific SCs, were discriminable from grades. Although we empirically confirmed the four subscales of the SDQ III, we could not confirm the Student Self subscale of the API. In recent research on self-concept (Byrne, 1986; Fleming & Courtney, 1984; Marsh & Shavelson, 1985; Shavelson & Bolus, 1982), earlier criticisms that most studies (a) lacked a clear theoretical basis, (b) used psychometrically inferior instruments, and (c) used inappropriate methodological procedures (Shavelson, Hubner, & Stanton, 1976; Wylie, 1974) have been addressed. More specifically, researchers have sought to validate both the conceptual structure of selfconcept and interpretations of the instruments designed to measure it (see Byrne, 1984). In broad terms, the purpose of the present study was to provide new evidence bearing on the properties of self-concept (SC) structure.