Psychometric Properties of the Environmental Reward Observation Scale: Study on Its Internal Structure, Factor Invariance, and Method Effect Associated With Its Negative Items

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the factorial structure of the scale, the method's effect associated with its negative items, its temporal invariance, and factorial invariance according to sex. For this purpose, three samples were collected, an initial sample of 200 participants, a second sample of 461 participants and a third sample of 107 participants; making a total of 768 Peruvian university students. Other instruments were applied together with the EROS scale in order to measure satisfaction with life, anxiety, stress and depression. Regarding the results, in the initial sample it was found that the original scale containing positive and negative items does adequately fit the data (RMSEA = .19; CFI = .77; TLI = .71) and also evidence was found supporting the existence of a methodological effect associated with the negative items. It was also found that version B of the scale which only has positive items data fits the data (RMSEA = .13; CFI = .96; TLI = .95). In the second sample it was found that version B still had a good fit to the data in a larger sample (RMSEA = .07; CFI = .98; TLI = .98). In addition, it was found that the scale can be considered invariant according to sex and presents validity based on other constructs. In the third sample it was found that the test-retest reliability of the scale was adequate (.70 [CI95% .593–.788]) and also evidence was found in favor of the temporal invariance of the scale. It is concluded that the scale formed only by positive items presents more robust psychometric properties and constitutes a better alternative to measure the level of reward provided by the environment.

Functioning of the EROS-R Scale in a Clinical Sample of Psychiatric Patients: New Psychometric Evidence from the Classical Test Theory and the Item Response Theory

“…Additionally, some correlated errors between the items could be attributed to similar conceptual content [ 39 ]. These correlated errors (1~2, 8~9, 9~10) are similar to those reported in the study by Vilca et al [ 31 ], except for the correlation of items 9 (“My life is interesting”) and 10 (“The activities I do normally go well”). Both items share a positive evaluative relationship, referring to positive affectivity in one’s personal experience.…”

“…In this sense, the study participants did not have significant difficulties responding to this scale version. In addition, the consistent results found in the criterion validity or relation to other variables indicate that the response pattern of the participants follows the same direction (negative relationship with anxiety and depression) as the general population samples in previous studies [ 19 , 31 ]. This leads us to think that the EROS-R could be used to evaluate the effectiveness of treatments based on BA in clinical samples and to analyze change processes in line with new therapeutic approaches that advocate cognitive-based, therapy process-based behavior [ 82 , 83 ].…”

“…The adaptation and validation of the scale to Spanish revealed some psychometric problems [ 29 , 30 ]. In contrast, the recent validation of the EROS-R instrument in Spanish, with only positive items, showed better psychometric performance [ 31 ]. However, this version has not been validated with a clinical population.…”

“…The original EROS scale was developed by Armento and Hopko [ 19 ] to measure the degree of reward provided by the environment. For the present study, the version adapted into Spanish by Vilca et al [ 31 ], where it showed adequate reliability indices (ω = 0.93 (IC 95% = 0.92–0.94)) and validity based on the internal structure (CFI = 0.98; TLI = 0.98; RMSEA = 0.075) in university students, was used. The scale is made up of 10 items ( Supplementary Materials ) that are answered with a Likert-type scale with four response categories ranging from: “totally disagree” (1) to “totally agree” (4), and where a higher score shows a greater experience of reinforcing experiences from the environment.…”

“…However, from the classical test theory (CTT) perspective, the study showed that the one-dimensional model presented adjustment problems (CFI = 0.95; RMSEA = 0.116 (IC 90% 0.096–0.137)) and from the perspective of the item response theory (IRT), items 2 ( a = 0.72) and 10 ( a = 0.95) presented low levels of discrimination. Additionally, with a Spanish-speaking population, Vilca et al [ 31 ] developed a version of only positive items (EROS-R) of the EROS scale. This instrument presented more robust psychometric properties compared to the original positive and negative item scale.…”