Bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling: A meta-analytic review of model fit

When and how to use set-exploratory structural equation modelling to test structural models: A tutorial using the R package lavaan

Exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM) is an alternative to the well-known method of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). ESEM is mainly used to assess the quality of measurement models of common factors but can be efficiently extended to test structural models. However, ESEM may not be the best option in some model specifications, especially when structural models are involved, because the full flexibility of ESEM could result in technical difficulties in model estimation. Thus, set-ESEM was developed to accommodate the balance between full-ESEM and CFA. In the present paper, we show examples where set-ESEM should be used rather than full-ESEM. Rather than relying on a simulation study, we provide two applied examples using real data that are included in the OSF repository. Additionally, we provide the code needed to run set-ESEM in the free R package lavaan to make the paper practical. Set-ESEM structural models outperform their CFA-based counterparts in terms of goodness of fit and realistic factor correlation, and hence path coefficients in the two empirical examples. In several instances, effects that were non-significant (i.e., attenuated) in the CFA-based structural model become larger and significant in the set-ESEM structural model, suggesting that set-ESEM models may generate more accurate model parameters and, hence, lower Type II error rate.

The Gothenburg Trismus Questionnaire in China: Cross-cultural adaptation and measurement invariance

OBJECTIVES

The Gothenburg Trismus Questionnaire (GTQ) is a comprehensive scale for screening and assessing trismus in head and neck (H&N) cancer and temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) patients. This study aimed to translate and cross-culturally adapt the GTQ in China, and to test its measurement invariance.

METHODS

This study comprised 278 H&N cancer, 245 TMD, and 507 control patients. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were tested to assess the GTQ's reliability. The validity was evaluated through composite reliability (CR), average variance extracted (AVE), and correlation tests. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to investigate the GTQ's measurement invariance across clinical status and gender. T tests were employed to compare score differences across clinical status and gender.

RESULTS

The Chinese version of GTQ scale shows excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The CR, AVE, and correlation values demonstrate the good validity of GTQ. The multi-group CFA supported configural invariance across clinical status but not metric invariance, while it supported strict invariance across gender. Additionally, t tests revealed that patients with H&N cancer and TMD scored higher than the control group, while males scored higher than females.

CONCLUSIONS

The Chinese version of GTQ serves as an effective tool for screening and assessing trismus.

Validation of the Italian version of the Neuroception of Psychological Safety Scale (NPSS)

Research on the neuroscience of fear in both humans and non-humans has suggested that a lack of acquisition of safety cues might be a biological hallmark of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Danger perception, and in particular, feeling as one's own life is in danger, is thought to represent a major predictor of PTSD. Persistent danger perception is concurrently associated with a persistence of lack of safety. However, despite several research efforts, no validated psychometric tools exist regarding psychological safety as a unique core construct in the domain of a soothing-contentment system. By including social, compassionate, and bodily components, the Neuroception of Psychological Safety Scale (NPSS), neurophysiologically rooted in the polyvagal theory, aims to specifically assess psychological safety. Originally developed in English, we employed a rather large non clinical sample to validate our Italian translation of the NPSS (n = 338) and the scale was found to retain a three-factor structure. In light of its positive moderate correlations with the Unconditional Self-Kindness Scale (ρ = 0.376) and the Self-Compassion Scale-Short-Form (ρ = 0.481), good convergent validity and robust psychometric properties were shown by the NPSS. The Subjective Traumatic Outlook Questionnaire (ρ = -0.283) and the three subscales of the Body Perception Questionnaire-22-Body Awareness (ρ = -0.103), Supradiaphragmatic Reactivity (ρ = -0.234), and Body Awareness/Subdiaphragmatic Reactivity (ρ = -0.146)-were found to have weak negative correlations with the NPSS, which further demonstrated its good discriminant validity. Eventually, the NPSS was found to show good test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.922; three-week time interval), and its usage is fostered in clinical and research contexts where the evaluation of psychological safety is of relevance.