A practical and theoretical guide to measurement invariance in aging research

Horn, John L.; McArdle, John J.

doi:10.1080/03610739208253916

Cited by 1,392 publications

(1,242 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Measurement equivalence was tested Cognitive structure 9 through multigroup CFA and included tests of weak (or metric) invariance (i.e. the factor loadings were the same across groups) (e.g., Horn & McArdle, 1992) and strong (or scalar) invariance, where also the intercepts were the same across groups (Bontempo & Hofer, 2007).…”

Section: Structural Equation Modeling Was Performed With Ibm Spss Amomentioning

confidence: 99%

Different Context but Similar Cognitive Structures: Older Adults in Rural Bangladesh

Sternäng

Lövdén

Kabir

et al. 2016

J Cross Cult Gerontol

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Most research in cognitive aging is based on literate participants from high-income and Western populations. The extent to which findings generalize to low-income and illiterate populations is unknown. The main aim was to examine the structure of between-person differences in cognitive functions among elderly from rural Bangladesh. We used data from the Poverty and Health in Aging (PHA) project in Bangladesh. The participants (n = 452) were in the age range 60-92 years. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate the fit of a five-factor model (episodic recall, episodic recognition, verbal fluency, semantic knowledge, processing speed) and to examine whether the model generalized across age, sex, and literacy. This study demonstrates that an established model of cognition is valid also among older persons from rural Bangladesh. The model demonstrated strong (or scalar) invariance for age, and partial strong invariance for sex and literacy. Semantic knowledge and processing speed showed weak (or metric) sex invariance, and semantic knowledge demonstrated also sensitivity to illiteracy. In general, women performed poorer on all abilities.The structure of individual cognitive differences established in Western populations also fits a population in rural Bangladesh well. This is an important prerequisite for comparisons of cognitive functioning (e.g. declarative memory) across cultures. It is also worth noting that absolute sex differences in cognitive performance among rural elderly in Bangladesh differ from those usually found in Western samples.

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Section: Structural Equation Modeling Was Performed With Ibm Spss Amomentioning

confidence: 99%

Different Context but Similar Cognitive Structures: Older Adults in Rural Bangladesh

Sternäng

Lövdén

Kabir

et al. 2016

J Cross Cult Gerontol

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“…The lowest level of equivalence is called configural equivalence (Horn and McArdle, 1992;Steenkamp and Baumgartner, 1998). Configural equivalence holds if confirmatory factor analysis shows that the measurement model exhibits the same configuration of salient and non-salient loadings in all countries and time points.…”

Section: Using the Mgcfa Framework To Test For Measurement Equivalencementioning

confidence: 99%

Changing attitudes toward immigration in Europe, 2002–2007: A dynamic group conflict theory approach

Meuleman

Davidov

Billiet

2009

Social Science Research

404

196

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Anti-immigration attitudes and its origins have been investigated quite extensively. Research that focuses on the evolution of attitudes toward immigration, however, is far more scarce. In this paper, we use data from the first three rounds of the European Social Survey (ESS) to study the trend of anti-immigration attitudes between 2002 and 2007 in 17 European countries. In the first part of the paper, we discuss the critical legitimacy for comparing latent variable means over countries and time. A multiple-group multiple-indicator structural equation modeling (MGSEM) approach is used to test the cross-country and cross-time equivalence of the variables under study. In a second step, we try to offer an explanation for the observed trends using a dynamic version of group conflict theory. The country-specific evolutions in attitudes toward immigration are shown to coincide with national context factors, such as immigration flows and changes in unemployment rates.

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“…This means that the items of the HTQ as well as the concepts they are measuring (i.e. the PTSD symptom dimensions of intrusion, hypervigilance, and avoidance) are interpreted in the same way by refugee patients with different non-western linguistic backgrounds (Horn & McArdle, 1992; Van de Schoot, Lugtig, & Hox, 2012). Therefore, meaningful comparisons of observed PTSD scale scores on the HTQ between refugee patients with different non-western linguistic backgrounds can be made.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If the instruments measure the same mental health concepts across groups with different linguistic backgrounds, the mental health questionnaires are called ‘measurement invariant’ across these groups. If measurement invariance (MI) can be demonstrated, this implies that the items of the mental health questionnaires as well as the mental health concepts they are measuring are interpreted in the same way by individuals with different linguistic backgrounds (Horn & McArdle, 1992; Van De Schoot, Lugtig, & Hox, 2012). Only when MI holds for a mental health questionnaire, cross-group differences in scores on mental health constructs are meaningful (Meredith, 1993; Steenkamp & Baumgartner, 1998; Van De Schoot et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The assessment of psychopathology among traumatized refugees: measurement invariance of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 across five linguistic groups

Wind

Rie

et al. 2017

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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Background: Questionnaires are widely used to assess the mental health status of refugees, whereas their construct validity largely remains unexplored. Objective: This study examined the construct validity of two widely-used instruments for the assessment of PTSD symptoms (Harvard Trauma Questionnaire [HTQ]; 16 items) and symptoms of anxiety and depression (Hopkins Symptom Check list-25 [HSCL-25]; 25 items) among Dutch and refugee patients with different linguistic backgrounds. Method: We applied exploratory factor analyses and measurement invariance analyses to test construct validity.Participants (n =1 256) were divided into five linguistic groups defined by language family, including four non-western linguistic groups (Indo-Iranian [n = 262], Niger-Congo [n = 134], Semitic [n = 288], and South Slavic languages [n = 199]) and one western linguistic group (Germanic languages; Dutch [n = 373]). Results: Exploratory factor analysis yielded a 3-factor structure of the HTQ and a 2-factor structure of the HSCL-25. Measurement invariance 20 analyses on the HTQ showed strong measurement invariance across the groups of refugee patients. However, Dutch patients reported milder symptom severity on most items of the HTQ. Measurement invariance analyses on the HSCL-25 (not conducted in Dutch patients) indicated partial strong measurement invariance across refugee patients. Conclusion: We conclude that mental health constructs measured by the HTQ and the HSCL25 25 are to a large extent interpreted in a similar way by refugee patients. This indicates that these instruments can be applied in non-western refugee patient populations, and that local idioms of distress and inherent response patterns may not play a major role when applying the HTQ and the HSCL-25 in these populations. Yet, whereas meaningful comparisons of observed PTSD and depression scores between groups of refugee patients with different non30 western linguistic background are feasible, comparisons between patients with a western and non-western linguistic background, as well as comparisons of anxiety scores, are likely to be biased. Future studies need to establish whether the commonly used cut-off scores of both questionnaires apply for refugee patients with non-western linguistic backgrounds.

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A practical and theoretical guide to measurement invariance in aging research

Cited by 1,392 publications

References 38 publications

Different Context but Similar Cognitive Structures: Older Adults in Rural Bangladesh

Different Context but Similar Cognitive Structures: Older Adults in Rural Bangladesh

Changing attitudes toward immigration in Europe, 2002–2007: A dynamic group conflict theory approach

The assessment of psychopathology among traumatized refugees: measurement invariance of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 across five linguistic groups

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