Application of S-1 Bifactor Model to Evaluate the Structural Validity of TMMS-24

Abstract

Background: Recent studies have shown that the internal structure of TMMS-24 can be conceptualized as a bifactor. However, these studies, based exclusively on the evaluation of the fit of the model, fail to show the existence of a general factor of strong emotional intelligence and have neglected the evaluation of the specific factors of attention, clarity and repair. The main goal of this work is to evaluate the degree of determination and reliability of the specific factors of TMMS-24 using a bifactor S-1 model. (2) Methods: We administered TMMS-24 to a sample of 384 students from middle and high schools (58.1% girls; mean age = 15.5; SD = 1.8). (3) Results: The specific TMMS-24 factors are better determined and present a higher internal consistency than the general factor. Furthermore, the bifactor S-1 model shows the existence of a hierarchical relationship between the attention factor and the clarity and repair factors. The S-1 bifactor model is the only one that was shown to be invariant as a function of the sex of the participants. (4) Conclusions: The S-1 bifactor model has proven to be a promising tool for capturing the structural complexity of TMMS-24. Its application indicates that it is not advisable to use the sum score of the items, since it would be contaminated by the attention factor. In addition, this score would not be invariant either, that is, comparisons by sex would be invalid.