Armida Mucci1, Paola Rucci2, Paola Rocca3, Paola Bucci1, Dino Gibertoni2, Eleonora Merlotti1, Silvana Galderisi4, Mario Maj1. 1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Naples SUN, Naples, Italy. 2. Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. 3. Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, Italy. 4. Department of Psychiatry, University of Naples SUN, Naples, Italy. Electronic address: silvana.galderisi@gmail.com.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The study aimed to assess the construct validity, internal consistency and factor structure of the Specific Levels of Functioning Scale (SLOF), a multidimensional instrument assessing real life functioning. METHODS: The study was carried out in 895 Italian people with schizophrenia, all living in the community and attending the outpatient units of 26 university psychiatric clinics and/or community mental health departments. The construct validity of the SLOF was analyzed by means of the multitrait-multimethod approach, using the Personal and Social Performance (PSP) Scale as the gold standard. The factor structure of the SLOF was examined using both an exploratory principal component analysis and a confirmatory factor analysis. RESULTS: The six factors identified using exploratory principal component analysis explained 57.1% of the item variance. The examination of the multitrait-multimethod matrix revealed that the SLOF factors had high correlations with PSP factors measuring the same constructs and low correlations with PSP factors measuring different constructs. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) corroborated the 6-factor structure reported in the original validation study. Loadings were all significant and ranged from a minimum of 0.299 to a maximum of 0.803. The CFA model was adequately powered and had satisfactory goodness of fit indices (comparative fit index=0.927, Tucker-Lewis index=0.920 and root mean square error of approximation=0.047, 95% CI 0.045-0.049). CONCLUSION: The present study confirms, in a large sample of Italian people with schizophrenia living in the community, that the SLOF is a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of social functioning. It has good construct validity and internal consistency, and a well-defined factor structure.
BACKGROUND: The study aimed to assess the construct validity, internal consistency and factor structure of the Specific Levels of Functioning Scale (SLOF), a multidimensional instrument assessing real life functioning. METHODS: The study was carried out in 895 Italian people with schizophrenia, all living in the community and attending the outpatient units of 26 university psychiatric clinics and/or community mental health departments. The construct validity of the SLOF was analyzed by means of the multitrait-multimethod approach, using the Personal and Social Performance (PSP) Scale as the gold standard. The factor structure of the SLOF was examined using both an exploratory principal component analysis and a confirmatory factor analysis. RESULTS: The six factors identified using exploratory principal component analysis explained 57.1% of the item variance. The examination of the multitrait-multimethod matrix revealed that the SLOF factors had high correlations with PSP factors measuring the same constructs and low correlations with PSP factors measuring different constructs. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) corroborated the 6-factor structure reported in the original validation study. Loadings were all significant and ranged from a minimum of 0.299 to a maximum of 0.803. The CFA model was adequately powered and had satisfactory goodness of fit indices (comparative fit index=0.927, Tucker-Lewis index=0.920 and root mean square error of approximation=0.047, 95% CI 0.045-0.049). CONCLUSION: The present study confirms, in a large sample of Italian people with schizophrenia living in the community, that the SLOF is a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of social functioning. It has good construct validity and internal consistency, and a well-defined factor structure.
Keywords:
Factor structure; Personal and Social Performance Scale; Real-life functioning; Schizophrenia; Specific Level of Functioning Scale; Validation
Authors: S Andrea Wijtenburg; Min Wang; Stephanie A Korenic; Shuo Chen; Peter B Barker; Laura M Rowland Journal: Front Psychiatry Date: 2021-05-19 Impact factor: 4.157