The use of confirmatory factor analyses in adolescent research: Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong

Factor analyses are often used to examine latent variables underlying a set of observed variables. Although exploratory factor analyses are commonly used, the findings are not definitive and there are few useful methods to determine superiority of different exploratory factor analysis models. In contrast, confirmatory factor analyses are used to test models defined in an a priori manner and different goodness-of-fit indicators are available. However, confirmatory factor analyses are complex if one uses the traditional syntax commands in LISREL. In this paper, primary factor and hierarchical confirmatory factor analyses as well as factorial invariance were examined based on the data collected in the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong. It is expected that through a step-by-step approach, researchers and students can understand the basic procedures in performing confirmatory factor analyses using SIMPLIS commands in LISREL.