Computational Identification of Confirmatory Factor Analysis Model with Simplimax Procedures

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) refers to the FA procedure with some loadings constrained to be zeros. A difficulty in CFA is that the constraint must be specified by users in a subjective manner. For dealing with this difficulty, we propose a computational method, in which the best CFA solution is obtained optimally without relying on users’ judgements. The method consists of the procedures at lower (L) and higher (H) levels: at the L level, for a fixed number of zero loadings, it is determined both which loadings are to be zeros and what values are to be given to the remaining nonzero parameters;at the H level, the procedure at the L level is performed over the different numbers of zero loadings, to provide the best solution. In the L level procedure, Kiers’ (1994) simplimax rotation fulfills a key role: the CFA solution under the constraint computationally specified by that rotation is used for initializing the parameters of a new FA procedure called simplimax FA. The task at the H level can be easily performed using information criteria. The usefulness of the proposed method is demonstrated numerically.

Examining the Hypothesis of Common Factors Shared by Different Addictive Behaviors and Gender Effects on Propensity to Addiction Type

Background: From the two facts reported by previous research: 1) frequent co-occurrence of more than one addictive behavior, 2) childhood adversities identified as origins of different types of addictive behaviors, it is assumed that all types of addictive behaviors, regardless of substance, behavioral, or relationship, share common factors which have not yet been proven by epidemiological research. The Shorter PROMIS Questionnaire (SPQ) was previously developed to assess 16 types of addictive behaviors. Its factor structure, however, has not been fully investigated. Confirming the factor structure will enable us to hypothesize the common factor(s) shared by all, or if not all, most types of addictive behaviors. Aims: This study aimed at 1) examining the factor structure of the SPQ, 2) confirming the reliability of the questionnaire, and 3) examining the impacts of gender and age on each addictive behavior. Methods: Data obtained from 232 Japanese adults who completed all items of the SPQ were used for the analyses. After confirming the one-factor structure model for each of the 16 subscales, the validity of the one-factor structure of the SPQ was evaluated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), by adapting 16 subscale scores as observed variables. If its validity was not confirmed, another model which showed better compatibility to the data was explored. The reliability of the SPQ as well as that of all 16 subscales was evaluated. Also, the impacts of gender and age on each subscale score were examined. Results: The one-factor structure for each of the 16 subscales was confirmed. The compatibility of the SPQ one-factor model was not acceptable. The best fit model was a bi-factor model in which one main factor was shared by all 16 subscales, and three factors were shared by some specific addictive behaviors. Male respondents were more likely than female respondents to show high scores in Alcohol, Tobacco, Gambling, Sex, and Recreational Drugs, and low scores only in Shopping. Respondents’ age did not impact any of the 16 subscale scores. Conclusion: It was demonstrated that there are common factors shared by all different types, as well as selected types of addictive behaviors, by conducting CFAs of the SPQ. Reliability was proven for the SPQ and for all 16 subscales. Male respondents were more likely to show physically hedonic addictive behaviors.

Translation and psychometric validation of the Korean version of the academic nurse self-efficacy scale for Korean bachelor-level nursing students

Objective:This study aimed to translate the Academic Nurse Self-Efficacy scale(ANSE),assess its appropriateness for use in Korean nursing students,and evaluate the Korean Version of the Academic Nurse Self-Efficacy scale’s(K-ANSE)validity and reliability.Methods:The data of 444 nursing college students at 10 universities across the country were collected from November 1,2020 to June 8,2021.The K-ANSE was analyzed utilizing SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 25.0 programs.The K-ANSE’s content validity,construct validity,convergent/discriminant validity,criterion-related validity,and reliability were evaluated.Results:Internal emotion management,auto-regulatory behavior,external emotion management,and sociality were established.The Cronbach’sαfor the overall scale was 0.87,and that of the 4 subscales ranged from 0.70 to 0.89.Conclusions:The Korean version of the ANSE seems to be a valid and reliable instrument to measure Korean bachelor-level nursing students.

Environmental Strategies for Sustainable Development:An Analysis of the Drivers of Proactive Environmental Strategies in the Manufacturing Sector

Stakeholders’concern towards the ecological damage arising out of emissions from the industrial processes has raised serious issues before the industrial sectors.Environmentalists and researchers are raising these issues in various forums.Few industrial sectors are well informed about environmental protection and act accordingly to address these issues by complying with environmental norms.However,some firms are more ethical in their business and proactively redefine their operations and policies beyond the regulatory requirements.What factors compel these firms to go beyond the extant laws to protect the environment?This study statistically analyses India’s cement sector for the factors that may be the drivers of environmental proactivity.Using Structural Equation Modelling(SEM),eight hypotheses were tested.The study’s findings can be helpful for the policymakers,environmental managers,and industrial sectors to frame policies for environmental protection,which will redound to societal benefit.

Validation and adaptation of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) in fitness group exercisers

Background:Recently,Mullen et al.(2011)presented an 8-item version of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale(PACES)that provides a valid instrument for assessing enjoyment in physical activity.The present paper investigated the psychometric properties of a Portuguese adaptation of PACES.Methods:After a process of back-to-back translation into Portuguese,395 members of fitness centers who ranged in age from 18 to 66 years(31.11§8.90,mean§SD)completed the translated version of the PACES.On average,participants had 3.2 years of experience in fitness group classes and practiced for approximately 3.3 times per week.Results:An initial exploratory factor analysis(n=139)revealed a unidimensional structure with factor loadings ranging from 0.79 to 0.89.Results also showed acceptable internal consistency.A confirmatory factor analysis in an independent sample(n=256)provided additional support for the unidimensional structure of the questionnaire.In addition,moderate positive correlations between enjoyment and intrinsic and identified regulation,and moderate negative correlations between enjoyment and external and amotivation,demonstrate the convergent validity of the instrument.Finally,measurement invariance between 2 independent samples was also found.Conclusion:The 8-item Portuguese version of PACES is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring enjoyment of physical activity in Portuguese adult fitness exercisers,and it is therefore suitable to use as a measure of affect in exercise adherence interventions studies.

Sport burnout inventoryDual career form for student-athletes: Assessing validity and reliability in a Finnish sample of adolescent athletes

Background:The pressure of pursuing an athletic career simultaneously with education may set adolescent student-athletes at risk for sport and school burnout.Although the 2 life domains of student-athletes are strongly intertwined,so far,there has not been an instrument for investigating sport burnout parallel to school burnout.The aim of the present study was to introduce a sport burnout measure for adolescents in a dual career context and investigate its validity and reliability by using confirmatory factor analysis.Methods:The participants were 391 student-athletes(51%females)who filled in a questionnaire of sport burnout and background variables in the beginning of upper secondary school.Results:A 3-factor model or a second-order-factor model described the data better and gave better reliability indices than a 1-factor model.The 3 dimensions of sport burnout were shown to be separate,but closely related constructs.Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity was obtained by correlating the 3 sport burnout dimensions with depressive symptoms,self-esteem,and sport task values.Conclusion:The results suggest that Sport Burnout InventoryDual Career Form(SpBI-DC)is a valid and reliable instrument for investigating sport burnout among adolescent student-athletes.

Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Infertility Self-Efficacy Scale

Objective:To translate the English version of Infertility Self-Efficacy Scale into Chinese and to validate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Infertility Self-Efficacy Scale(CISE).Method(s):Participants were recruited from the Gynecology Department of two city hospitals.Five main processes were involved in the formation of CISE[1]:scale translation based on expert consultation[2];pre-test questionnaire development with infertile women's feedback(N=20)[3];factor structure assessed by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis(N=177)[4];assessment of reliability by internal consistency(N=177)and test-retest reliability(N=21);and[5]assessment of convergent validity with Self-rating Anxiety Scale,Self-rating Depression Scale,and Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire(N=177).Results:This study established a 16-item CISE.Factor analyses confirmed a onecomponent solution,which explained 54.59% of total variances and showed an acceptable model fit.Cronbach's a and test-retest correlation coefficients for the scale were 0.94 and 0.84,respectively.The CISE score was significantly correlated with anxiety(r=0.47),depression(r=0.60),positive coping style(r=0.37),and certain negative coping style items.Conclusion:This 16-item CISE is a reliable and valid measure to evaluate perceived selfefficacy among a sample of Chinese women who underwent infertility treatment.

Customer-Value Creation in Self-service Technologies (SSTs) in the Tourism Industry

This paper explores and validates the process of customer value creation in self-service technologies(SSTs)in the context of the tourism industry.As the self-technology has been gradually advanced,its adoption in the tourism industry has brought many changes.A new trend of self-service technologies has helped service firms to save the labor costs and customers’waiting time for transactions.The purpose of this study is to confirm an applicability and a design of the original model of SSTs and explore the connection between SSTs and creation of value perception through a confirmatory factor analysis in the context of the tourism industry.Furthermore,the results of the online survey questionnaire from 234 responses in the United States and South Korea are explained in this study.The results of this study concluded that five statistically important factors are related to customers’motivations to use SSTs and enable customers to interact with SSTs as“SST location and capacity planning”,“SST service quality”,“motivations to use SST”,“SST design”,and“SST encounter”.These factors may imply an important meaning to better understand about customer value during the adoption of SSTs in the tourism industry.Tourism firms may use the results of this study to effectively enhance how customers perceive value about their products and services during the usage of SSTs.This will help tourism firms’efficiencies on the adoption of SSTs for their business plans and help them remain profitable in the competitive market.

A Novel DBN-EFA-CFA-Based Dimensional Reduation for Credit Risk Measurement

Affected by the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike and the downward pressure on the domestic economy,the phenomenon of default is still prominent.The credit risk of the listed companies has become a growing concern of the community.In this paper we present a novel credit risk measurement method based on a dimensional reduation technique.The method first extracts the risk measure indexes from the basal financial data via dimensional reduation by using deep belief network(DBN),exploratory factor analysis(EFA)and confirmatory factor analysis(CFA)in turn.And then the credit risk is measured by a systemic structural equation model(SEM)and logistic distribution.To validate the proposed method,we employ the financial data of the listed companies from Q12019 to Q22022.The empirical results show its effectiveness on statistical evaluation,assessment on testing samples and credit risk forecasting.

A preliminary validation of the Brief COPE instrument for assessing coping strategies among people living with HIV in China

Background:The Brief COPE instrument has been utilized to conduct research on various populations,including people living with HIV(PLWH).However,the questionnaire constructs when applied to PLWH have not been subjected to thorough factor validation.Methods:A total of 258 PLWH were recruited from two provinces of China.They answered questions involving the scales of three instruments:the Brief COPE,the Perceived Social Support Scale,and the Perceived Discrimination Scale for PLWH.Confirmatory factor analysis(CFA)and exploratory factor analysis(EFA)were conducted.Results:The CFA found a poor goodness of fit to the data.The subsequent EFA identified six preliminary factors,forming subscales with Cronbach’s alphas,which ranged from 0.61 to 0.80.Significant correlation coefficients between the subscales and measures of perceived social support and perceived discrimination were reported,giving preliminary support to the validity of the new empirical factor structure.Conclusion:This study showed that the original factor structure of the Brief COPE instrument,when applied to PLWH in China,did not fit the data.Thus,the Brief COPE should be applied to various populations and cultures with caution.The new factor structure established by the EFA is only preliminary and requires further validation.