Gender-Based Differential Item Function for the Positive and Negative Semantic Dimensions of the Relationship Satisfaction Scale with Item Response Theory

Relationship satisfaction is at the core of a robust social life and is essential to mental health. The positive and negative semantic dimensions of the relationship satisfaction (PN-SMD) scale is considered in the field of relationship studies to be a reliable tool for assessing the quality of a pe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBehavioral sciences Vol. 13; no. 10; p. 825
Main Authors Fung, Sai-fu, Jin, Jiahui
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.10.2023
MDPI
Subjects
Chinese
DIF
Gender
Internet
Interpersonal relations
IRT
Item response theory
Loneliness
Mediation
Mental health
MIRT
Personal relationships
PN-SMD
Quantitative psychology
relationship satisfaction
Self esteem
Semantics
United Kingdom
China
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Summary:Relationship satisfaction is at the core of a robust social life and is essential to mental health. The positive and negative semantic dimensions of the relationship satisfaction (PN-SMD) scale is considered in the field of relationship studies to be a reliable tool for assessing the quality of a person’s interpersonal relationships. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the PN-SMD scale by conducting multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) and differential item functioning (DIF) analyses, both of which are emerging assessment methods that focus on individual items. We recruited 511 Chinese undergraduate students for this study. Construct validity, internal consistency, and concurrent validity were assessed, and MIRT and DIF analyses were conducted. Five of the 14 items were found to have gender-based DIF traits, affecting the scale’s construct validity. A revised nine-item scale (DIF items excluded) had a significantly better model fit and demonstrated comparable concurrent validity to the original scale. The implications of our results and future research directions are discussed.
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ISSN:2076-328X
2076-328X
DOI:10.3390/bs13100825