A confirmatory factor analysis of scores on a Chinese version of an academic self-concept scale and its invariance across groups

The purposes of this inquiry were twofold: (a) to examine the factor structure, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of scores on a Chinese version of an academic self-concept scale titled Dimensions of Self-Concept (DOSC), which provides an assessment of standing in five factor subscales: Level of Aspiration, Anxiety, Academic Interest and Satisfaction, Leadership and Initiative, and Identification Versus Alienation; and (b) to examine factorial invariance of scores across gender and age groups. A convenience sample of 877 seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-grade students participated in a suburban area of Changhua, Taiwan. The research findings provided promising support for the convergent and discriminant validity of scores on the subscales corresponding to five hypothesized constructs. From a practical standpoint, the findings reported in this investigation indicated that the factor coefficients, the factor variance/covariance, and various errors across age and gender groups were invariant across groups.