Scalar invariance is widely regarded as essential for comparing test-score means across groups. However, it is less clear when test scores can be meaningfully compared at the individual level — specifically, whether individuals from different groups who share the same observed score have the same expected value of the latent trait. I show that scalar invariance alone is insufficient for meaningful person-level comparisons based on sum scores. In addition to scalar invariance, person comparison invariance requires equality of latent variable means and omega coefficients across groups. Nevertheless, non-invariance effects can be relatively small if the omega coefficients are high and similar in magnitude across groups. I relate person comparison invariance to predictive invariance and provide R code to test person comparison invariance and to visualise the effects of non-invariance.

Virtual leadership requires creating a motivational environment for employees from diverse cultural and geographical backgrounds while promoting effective cross-functional collaboration throughout the organization. Despite the literature highlighting cross-functional collaboration as a key factor for success, there is a lack of research examining the relationship between virtual leadership and cross-functional collaboration. Our empirical study addresses this gap and explores the connection between factors such as the quality and frequency of leader-subordinate communication, a leader’s networking skills and virtual leadership efficacy, and the association between virtual leadership efficacy and cross-functional collaboration. We tested research hypotheses on a sample of 133 participants in a global company with a matrix structure. Using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), we analysed the conceptual model and confirmed a positive relationship between communication quality, leader networking ability, and perceived virtual leadership efficacy. The research findings indicated that the frequency of communication between leader and subordinate does not have a significant impact on the perception of virtual leadership efficacy. The study also revealed the direct and indirect effects of virtual leadership efficacy on cross-functional collaboration. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the impacts of virtual leadership efficacy and broaden the understanding of the direct and indirect effects of virtual leadership efficacy on cross-functional collaboration.

In this study, we employed continuous-time dynamic modeling to investigate the evolving interplay between students' state conscientiousness and their perceptions of situation characteristics related to duties and intellectual demands. A week-long experience sampling study (ESM) was conducted using a mobile application, yielding 4,694 reports from 185 undergraduate students (87.6% female, mean age 20.2 years) responding to prompts five times daily. Results indicated that higher perceived levels of duty and intellectual demands were concurrently associated with higher state conscientiousness. Increases in state conscientiousness predicted subsequent reductions from the initial increase in perceived duties, possibly reflecting a sense of self-efficacy after acting conscientiously that lowered the perceived burden of subsequent duties. On the other hand, increases in perceived levels of duty and intellectual demands predicted subsequent reductions from the initially elevated state conscientiousness. Increased duty and intellectual demands may temporarily strain self-regulatory resources needed to meet momentary demands, making it difficult to engage in highly conscientious behavior on a sustained basis. The negative cross-effects underscore the importance of appropriate resource management for students, particularly in situations where they are expected to pursue multiple goals and tasks or engage in intellectually demanding activities.

This study examined the dynamic interplay between extraversion and subjectively perceived sociality of situations using continuous-time dynamic modeling. In a week-long experience sampling study, we collected 4,694 reports of state extraversion and perceived sociality from a sample of university students. Results showed that changes in state extraversion lasted longer and took longer to return to baseline than changes in perceived sociality. Increases in state extraversion predicted subsequent increases in perceived sociality, whereas increases in perceived sociality predicted subsequent decreases in state extraversion. Cross-lagged effects reached their maximum at 1.5 h lag. The negative cross-lagged effect of sociality on state extraversion suggests a compensatory mechanism of temporal reduction of extraverted behavior in an effort to balance the level of social engagement.

In factor analysis of ordinal variables, category thresholds determine the values of a hypothetical latent response at which a transition to a higher response option occurs. In general, category thresholds are estimated as free parameters. In the Rasch measurement theory framework, the rating -scale model has been proposed that prescribes equal sets of distances between category thresholds for all items. As a factor analytic parallel, I propose a model with a constrained threshold structure (FACTS). The application of the model is illustrated with a real data example. A simulation study showed that the thresholds are estimated more accurately with the FACTS model than with the standard unconstrained model for different sample sizes, test lengths, and number of response categories. In addition, the likelihood ratio test generally showed good power in comparing the two models. Because the FACTS model performs well and provides a meaningful interpretation of category thresholds, it may be used routinely in factor analysis of categorical item responses.

A sense of community plays an important role in promoting sustainable behaviors and values. Therefore, when measuring sense of community, it is important to ensure that such measurement instruments have excellent psychometric properties. In this study, we start from the model that sense of community is related to a person’s perception of his or her relationship with a community, particularly in terms of need fulfillment, sense of connectedness and emotional connection, and perceived impact on the community. The Brief Sense of Community Scale (BSCS) is an 8-item self-report scale designed specifically for the assessment of individuals’ relation with their neighborhood. The aim of this study was to investigate the factor structure and reliability of a new Slovenian version. A sample of 502 adults from Slovenia completed the scale. The data did not support the original hierarchical four-factor model. On the other hand, a one-factor model with autoregressive effects on the unique factors fitted well. The reliability of the sum score was excellent, while only two out of the four subscales had acceptable reliability. The results support the use of the Slovenian version of the BSCS as a unidimensional scale and allow the use of this measure in research on sense of community and possibly as a rigorous measure in further studies of sustainable development in different cultures.

Aim:Recently, a patient-reported experience measure (PREM) was developed in Slovenia to assess patients' experiences with outpatient specialist healthcare clinics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties (including factor structure, reliability, convergent validity, and response distribution) of the questionnaire.Methods:The sample consisted of 8,406 adult participants treated in 171 specialist clinics from different medical fields. Participants voluntarily and anonymously responded to either the paper or online survey.Results:Descriptive statistics show meaningful response patterns with a general tendency towards favourable assessments. The psychometric analyses of the scales evaluating doctor's and nurses' work, respectively, generally showed a good fit of the unidimensional factor model as well as the Rasch model, high factor loadings and very good to satisfactory reliability. The Rasch scaling showed that these scales were most informative for patients with relatively unfavourable experience ratings.Conclusions:The results are similar to those found in previous evaluations of PREMs in other countries. Given its good psychometric properties, the Slovenian PREM can be recommended for healthcare evaluations in Slovenia and as a model for the development of similar PREMs in other countries.

The purpose of this study was to examine measurement invariance of the Subjective Happiness Scale across countries, gender, and age groups and across time by multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. Altogether, 4,977 participants from nine European, American, and Australian countries were included in the study. Our results revealed that both configural and metric invariance held across countries, but scalar invariance was only partially confirmed with one item yielding varying intercepts in different countries. Measurement invariance was also confirmed across gender and age groups. Longitudinal measurement invariance was examined on a subsample of 478 English-speaking participants and was fully confirmed across five consecutive assessment points. Factor means were compared between groups and across time, and good convergent validity of the Subjective Happiness Scale was found in relation to a measure of temporal satisfaction with life. Overall, our results demonstrate that self-reported happiness was measured similarly in nine different countries, gender and age groups and over time, and provide a solid foundation for meaningful cross-group and cross-time comparisons in subjective happiness.

Despite the increasing popularity of mixed-mode approaches to data collection, studies examining measurement equivalence across different survey modes in representative samples of the general population, particularly focusing on measures of socially sensitive psychological constructs, are sparse. In this study, we used data from a large representative sample of the Slovenian population (N = 9,900) collected as part of the third wave of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) to examine mode-inherent effects (i.e., measurement effects that cannot be neutralized by clever survey design) of the traditional interviewer-mediated face-to-face mode and the increasingly popular self-administered web mode on three measures of psychological functioning, namely the Patient Health Questionnaire Depression Scale (PHQ-8), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and the Mental Health Continuum – Short Form (MHC-SF). After controlling for self-selection propensities, our results showed strict measurement invariance for all three scales across the two survey modes, but statistically significant and notable differences in latent means, suggesting that individuals who respond face-to-face systematically report better psychological functioning than individuals who respond over the web. These results suggest significant mode inherent effects that cannot be attributed to measurement non-invariance of the scales between face-to-face and web survey modes, but most likely to social desirability bias in responses achieved in the presence of an interviewer. Administration mode effects must be considered when interpreting and comparing results obtained through different survey modes, particularly interviewer-mediated versus self-administered modes, especially when using measures of culturally desirable traits and behaviors, such as mental health and well-being.

Existing procedures for testing measurement invariance focus mainly on group-level comparisons rather than individual comparisons (i.e., the main conclusion typically concerns the question of comparability of group means). We propose a set of intuitive graphical displays called Person-Level Assessment of Measurement Invariance (PLAMI), which attempt to provide information about the effect of the lack of measurement invariance on the level of person scores. This information complements the group-level information contained in model fit indices and overall effect size indices, and should be especially useful for practitioners using tests for individual diagnostics. PLAMI uses results from the multiple-group factor analysis to estimate and visualize score distortions in terms of expected score difference between members of different groups and the probability of an unacceptably high score difference, conditional for the value of latent trait. The stability of the results can be evaluated by means of resampling. Simulation can be used for an a priori evaluation of the sample size adequacy. We illustrate the proposed plots on two real examples involving testing measurement invariance of the Machiavellianism scale, and we demonstrate the added value of PLAMI compared to the use of fit indices alone.

The study explored the psychometric characteristics of the Revised Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire (EATQ-R-SF). Based on data of 238 early adolescents, we examined the factor structure of the EATQ-R-SF, reliability, and gender differences in mean levels of trait scores. The results showed a satisfactory fit to the models, although the fit indices for some subscales did not reach the recommended values. Internal consistency of the scales was satisfactory. Girls exhibited higher levels of fear, pleasure sensitivity, affiliation and positive emotionality than boys. The reliability of scores was appropriate for use in research, although it would need further improvement.

As a crisis response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies quickly established virtual leadership systems and enabled employees to continue their work from home. This cross-sectional research addresses virtual leadership efficacy assessed by the leaders and by their employees. The findings suggest that leaders evaluate themselves significantly better than their employees, and their leadership efficacy mainly depends on their previous experience of working from home and ability to use communication technologies. This research contributes to the understanding of the factors that have the biggest influence on the belief in leadership efficacy in the context of a rapidly evolving system of remote work.

The study explored the psychometric characteristics of the Revised Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire (EATQ-R-SF). Based on data of 238 early adolescents, we examined the factor structure of the EATQ-R-SF, reliability, and gender differences in mean levels of trait scores. The results showed a satisfactory fit to the models, although the fit indices for some subscales did not reach the recommended values. Internal consistency of the scales was satisfactory. Girls exhibited higher levels of fear, pleasure sensitivity, affiliation and positive emotionality than boys. The reliability of scores was appropriate for use in research, although it would need further improvement.

Aim: To validate the Slovenian version (SOC-13-SVN) of Sense of Coherence 13-item instrument (SOC-13) in Slovenian multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Methods: A consecutive 134 Slovenian MS patients were enrolled in a cross-sectional study in 2013. The reliability of the SOC-13-SVN was assessed for internal consistency by Cronbach's alpha coefficient (alpha), dimensionality by the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and criterion validity by Pearson correlation coefficient (r) between SOC-13-SVN global score and MSQOL-54 composite scores-Mental Health Composite score (MHC) and Physical Health Composite score (PHC). Results: For the SOC-13-SVN instrument as a whole, internal consistency was high (alpha(total)=0.88) while it was low for three subscales (alpha(comprehensibility)=0.79; alpha(manageability)=0.66; alpha(meaningfulness)=0.69). The results of the CFA confirmed a three-factor structure with good fit (RMSEA=0.059, CFI=0.953, SRMR=0.065), however, the correlations between the factors were very high (r(comprehensibility/manageability)=0.938; r(comprehensibility/meaningfulness)=0.811; r(manageability/meaningfulness)=0.930). The criterion validity analysis showed a moderate positive strength of relationship between SOC-13-SVN global score and both MSQOL-54 composite scores (MHC: r=0.597, p<0.001; PHC: r=0.437, p<0.001). Conclusion: Analysis of some psychometric properties confirmed that this instrument is a reliable and valid tool for use in Slovenian MS patients. Despite the three-dimensional structure of the instrument, the use of the global summary score is encouraged due to the low reliability of the subscale scores and high correlations between them.

The aim of this study was to assess psychometric characteristics of Slovenian versions of two self-administered questionnaires of health related quality of life SF-36v2® and ESRD-SCL-TM in kidney transplant patients. Fifty eight stable kidney transplant recipients from the only transplant centre in Slovenia responded to the questionnaires two times with 14–21 days in between. At the same time health measures related to kidney functioning and general health were checked. The results show acceptable internal reliability of all dimensions of the two questionnaires. Dimensions of both questionnaires that measure similar constructs correlate appropriately to support the construct validity as well as with expected demographic (gender, education) and clinical variables (haemoglobin, creatinine, number of medications taken daily). Slovenian versions of SF-36v2® and ESRD-SCL-TM showed satisfactory results in measuring health related quality of life in kidney transplant patients with the exception of test-retest reliability in SF-36v2®.

Zadovoljstvo z bivalnim okoljem je bila v zadnjih desetletjih temeljito raziskovana tema, saj lahko ponudi pomemben vpogled v kakovost bivalnega okolja. Vendar na tem področju še vedno ostaja veliko neodgovorjenih vprašanj in neskladnosti med izsledki raziskav. Ker na razumevanje katerega koli področja znanstvenega raziskovanja pomembno vpliva kakovost metodologije in uporabljenih merskih instrumentov, je namen tega članka pregled trenutnega stanja razvoja in psihometričnih značilnosti najpogosteje uporabljenih metod merjenja zadovoljstva z bivalnim okoljem, in sicer samoocenjevalnih vprašalnikov, ki izhajajo iz pristopa merjenja splošnega zadovoljstva z bivalnim okoljem na podlagi ocenjevanja zadovoljstva s posameznimi vidiki bivalnega okolja. Iz pregleda študij je razvidno splošno pomanjkanje ustrezno razvitih vprašalnikov s preverjeno veljavnostjo, pomanjkljivo poročanje o izvoru, razvoju in psihometričnih značilnostih uporabljenih vprašalnikov ter pogosto pomanjkljivo vlaganje v razvoj in preverjanje veljavnosti vprašalnikov. Ta opažanja so pomembna predvsem za ocenjevanje kakovosti študij in implikacij glede zadovoljstva z bivalnim okoljem, ki izhajajo iz teh študij, poleg tega so to točke, v zvezi s katerimi bi bilo mogoče raziskovalno prakso izboljšati.

Prva monografija v novonastali Rostoharjevi zbirki, posvecena Mihajlu Rostoharju, ustanovitelju Oddelka za psihologijo in Instituta za psihologijo na Filozofski fakulteti na Univerzi v Ljubljani. Namen zbirke je v rednem predstavljanju znanstvenega dela clanov Oddelka. Gre za precni prikaz aktualnih raziskav, ki jih objavljajo clanice in clani posameznih Kateder. V prvi monografiji v zbirki se predstavljajo avtorji iz Kateder za razvojno, pedagosko in obco psihologijo, psiholosko metodologijo ter psihologijo dela in organizacije.

Residential satisfaction is a topic that has been extensively studied in recent decades because it can offer important insights into the quality of the residential environment. However, many inconsistencies and unanswered questions on this topic still persist. Because the understanding of any field of inquiry is importantly affected by the quality of the methodology and measurement instruments employed, this article explores the current state of development and investigation of the psychometric properties of one of the most widely employed methods of measuring residential satisfaction: self-assessment questionnaires that measure satisfaction by assessing satisfaction with specific aspects of the residential environment. A review of representative studies shows a general lack of properly developed and validated questionnaires, lack of sufficient reporting on the origin, development, and psychometric characteristics of the questionnaires employed, and often too little thought and effort invested in developing and validating questionnaires. Such observations are especially important for evaluating the quality of studies and their implications for residential satisfaction, and they are the points where research practice could be improved.

Namen pričujoče raziskave je bil preveriti psihometrične lastnosti slovenskih priredb vprašalnikov za merjenje z zdravjem povezane kakovosti življenja SF-36v2® in ESRD-SCL-TM na vzorcu bolnikov po presaditvi ledvice. Oseminpetdeset stabilnih bolnikov iz edinega slovenskega centra za presaditev ledvice je na vprašalnika odgovarjalo dvakrat v razmiku 14–21 dni. Sočasno smo pri bolnikih izmerili zdravstvene kazalce, ki se povezujejo z delovanjem presajene ledvice in splošnim zdravstvenim stanjem. Rezultati kažejo dobro notranjo zanesljivost posameznih lestvic obeh vprašalnikov. Zanesljivost v času je bila zadovoljiva za vprašalnik ESRD-SCL-TM, ne pa tudi za vprašalnik SF-36v2®. Lestvice obeh vprašalnikov, ki merijo sorodne konstrukte, smiselno korelirajo med seboj ter s pričakovanimi demografskimi (spol, izobrazba) in zdravstvenimi spremenljivkami (hemoglobin, kreatinin, število zdravil). Slovenski verziji vprašalnikov SF-36v2® in ESRD-SCL-TM imata zadovoljive merske lastnosti (z izjemo stabilnosti v času pri vprašalniku SF-36v2®) za merjenje z zdravjem povezane kakovosti življenja pri bolnikih po presaditvi ledvice.