Is health locus of control a 3-factor or a 2-factor construct?

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Health Psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• The Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) scales are widely utilized in health psychology research.
• However, questions persist regarding the factorial validity of these scales.
• Ensuring the reliability and validity of psychological instruments is crucial for accurate research findings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the factorial validity of a French-Canadian adaptation of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) scales.
• To compare two distinct factor models using confirmatory factor analysis.
• To assess the cross-group equivalence of the MHLC factor structure between non-clinical and clinical populations.

Main Methods:

• Confirmatory factor analyses were performed on a French-Canadian adaptation of the MHLC scales.
• Two factor models were compared within a non-clinical adult group (n=224).
• Multigroup analyses were conducted comparing the non-clinical group with a clinical group of diabetic patients (n=132).

Main Results:

• A 3-factor model, incorporating internal, external, and chance dimensions while accounting for measurement errors, demonstrated the best fit to the data.
• Multigroup analyses indicated a lack of factorial invariance for MHLC factor loadings between the non-clinical and clinical groups.
• This suggests that the factor structure of the MHLC scales may differ significantly across these populations.

Conclusions:

• The findings support a 3-factor structure for the French-Canadian MHLC scales in a non-clinical adult sample.
• The study highlights potential issues with directly comparing MHLC scores between non-clinical and clinical (diabetic) populations due to differing factor structures.
• Further research may be needed to validate MHLC scale usage across diverse clinical and non-clinical groups.