TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing sense of school belonging across cultural contexts using the PSSM
T2 - Measurement and functional invariance
AU - Abubakar, Amina
AU - van de Vijver, Fons J.R.
AU - Alonso-Arbiol, Itziar
AU - Suryani, Angela O.
AU - Pandia, Weny Savitry
AU - Handani, Penny
AU - Arasa, Josephine
AU - Mazrui, Lubna
AU - Murugumi, Margaret
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2015.
PY - 2016/7
Y1 - 2016/7
N2 - Despite its popularity, the factorial structure of the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) Questionnaire remains controversial. The current study set out to clarify its structure across different cultural contexts. The study was carried out among 1,928 adolescents aged 11 to 20 years in the Netherlands, Kenya, Indonesia, and Spain. Item-based measurement models with a single factor did not show a good fit. A bifactor method (defining a method factor for negatively worded items) did not show a good fit either. However, when items were combined per target to be rated (school, student, teacher, other people, and self), measurement invariance of a one-factorial model was found. Internal consistencies observed across the cultural groups studied were high. In addition, an evaluation of functional equivalence indicated that the relationship between PSSM and life satisfaction was invariant across countries. Implications for assessment and future directions are discussed.
AB - Despite its popularity, the factorial structure of the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) Questionnaire remains controversial. The current study set out to clarify its structure across different cultural contexts. The study was carried out among 1,928 adolescents aged 11 to 20 years in the Netherlands, Kenya, Indonesia, and Spain. Item-based measurement models with a single factor did not show a good fit. A bifactor method (defining a method factor for negatively worded items) did not show a good fit either. However, when items were combined per target to be rated (school, student, teacher, other people, and self), measurement invariance of a one-factorial model was found. Internal consistencies observed across the cultural groups studied were high. In addition, an evaluation of functional equivalence indicated that the relationship between PSSM and life satisfaction was invariant across countries. Implications for assessment and future directions are discussed.
KW - Functional invariance
KW - Measurement invariance
KW - PSSM
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84978759745&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0734282915607161
DO - 10.1177/0734282915607161
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84978759745
SN - 0734-2829
VL - 34
SP - 380
EP - 388
JO - Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment
JF - Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment
IS - 4
ER -