Confirmatory factor analysis of the revised Personal Style Inventory

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Personality Psychology

Background:

• Sociotropy and autonomy are personality dimensions associated with depression vulnerability.
• The Personal Style Inventory (PSI) was developed to assess these traits.
• Understanding these dimensions is crucial for depression onset, maintenance, and recurrence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the revised Personal Style Inventory (PSI).
• To test the theoretical structure of sociotropy and autonomy dimensions using confirmatory factor analysis.
• To assess the PSI's measurement properties in both nonclinical and major depression outpatient samples.

Main Methods:

• Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to evaluate the PSI's theoretical structure.
• The study utilized a large nonclinical sample (n=869) and a clinical sample of outpatients with major depression (n=101).
• Item and subscale factor structures were analyzed for representation of the theoretical model.

Main Results:

• The PSI's factor structures, both at the item and subscale levels, generally represented the theoretical model well.
• Modifications to the subscale level were necessary to achieve adequate model fit for both nonclinical and clinical participants.
• The findings support the PSI's utility in measuring sociotropy and autonomy.

Conclusions:

• The revised PSI demonstrates a fair to good representation of the theoretical model for sociotropy and autonomy.
• Subscale modifications enhance the PSI's applicability and accuracy in diverse populations.
• The study contributes to the measurement and theoretical understanding of sociotropy, autonomy, and their relation to depression.