The Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised: Factor structure in a culturally and sociodemographically diverse sample...

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Child Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• The Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (IBQ-R) is a common parent-report measure of infant temperament.
• Existing IBQ-R factor structures lack robust empirical support and were developed on non-diverse samples.
• Current U.S. demographics necessitate evaluating the IBQ-R in representative populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the factor structure of the IBQ-R in a diverse U.S. mother-infant cohort.
• To assess the applicability of the recommended IBQ-R factor structure across varied sociodemographic groups.
• To explore alternative factor structures for the IBQ-R in a diverse sample.

Main Methods:

• Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were used to examine the IBQ-R structure.
• The study included 380 mother-infant dyads with diverse maternal characteristics (e.g., race, income, education).
• Maternal sociodemographic data were collected during pregnancy; IBQ-R was administered when infants were 6 months old.

Main Results:

• The recommended three-factor IBQ-R model showed a poor fit in the diverse sample.
• Modifications to the model did not improve fit.
• An exploratory factor analysis identified an acceptable three-factor solution with variations from the original structure.
• Factor and scale scores demonstrated a lack of invariance across maternal country of birth, race/ethnicity, and household income.

Conclusions:

• The standard IBQ-R factor structure may require adaptation for use with diverse populations.
• Findings highlight the need for culturally sensitive and sociodemographically representative temperament measures.
• Further research is warranted to refine and validate the IBQ-R for diverse infant populations.