Elena Andrade

Factor Structure and Invariance of the POMS Mood State Questionnaire in Spanish

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which the Spanish POMS assesses the same factors as the original form of the questionnaire. We started from a version with 63 items, representing seven conceptual dimensions. This version was administered to a sample of 364 adult athletes. In the whole sample, exploratory factor analytic findings suggested a more parsimonious measurement model, with 44 items and 6 first-order factors. Then the data from said sample were randomly divided into two sets, each containing about 50% of the subjects. The fit of the first sample set (n = 166) to the proposed model was adequate. Four of the main goodness-of-fit indices exhibited the following values: CFI = .95, NNFI = .95, SRMR = .083, and RMSEA = .064. We tested the same model in the second data set (n = 198), in which the fit was also acceptable, with values of .95, .94, .088, and .066 for CFI, NNFI, SRMR, and RMSEA, respectively. In addition, we used multi-group confirmatory factor analysis to provide evidence on the invariance of the model.

Valoración del autobús como medio de transporte público urbano: un estudio de las diferencias entre segmentos de la población

Resumen Las actitudes de la población hacia los medios de transporte público han sido evaluadas en una investigación previa a la que aquí se presenta (Arce et al., 1996). Una de las conclusiones más importante de dicha investigación era que las propiedades utilizadas por los ciudadanos para juzgar los medios de transporte público se agrupaban en tres dimensiones: Prestigio, Confortabilidady Seguridad. El objetivo del presente trabajo ha consistido en analizar las posibles diferencias existentes en las tres dimensiones mencionadas en función de las variables sexo, usuario y edad, tomando únicamente el autobús como medio de transporte público urbano. Los resultados reflejan diferencias significativas en el grado de prestigio, confortabilidady seguridad que los distintos colectivos estudiados conceden al autobús. Se ha observado, además, que las puntuaciones medias obtenidas en las dimensiones prestigio y confortabilidad eran muy bajas, y relativamente más altas en la dimensión seguridad.

Factor structure of mood over time frames and circumstances of measurement: Two studies on the Profile of Mood States questionnaire

This paper presents the results of two studies on the invariance of the Profile of Mood States questionnaire across response time frames and circumstances of administration. We applied Spanish versions of the instrument to gather data from 1146 athletes. In the first study (N = 700), we tested the factor structure of the questionnaire in training sessions by using two different time frames: ‘right now’ (n = 350) and ‘past week’ (n = 350). In the second study (N = 446), we compared the factor structure of the questionnaire with data collected using the instruction ‘right now’ at two different circumstances: ‘training’ (n = 223) and ‘competition’ (n = 223). Data analysis was similar in both studies. We conducted multi-group confirmatory factor analyses and applied the scaled difference chi-square statistic to examine whether discrepancies in successive constrained models were significant. We observed configural equivalence between the two time frames. Furthermore, we observed metric equivalence but not scalar invariance between the different circumstances of measurement. The findings highlight the need for studies of equivalence before using a single self-report with more than one set of instructions, or under diverse circumstances. Invariance of mood scores should be examined and taken into account when interpreting individual and group mood state assessments.