Language

English

Publication Date

5-1-2023

Journal

European Journal of Psychological Assessment

DOI

10.1027/1015-5759/a000707

PMID

37485035

PMCID

PMC10361684

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

7-21-2023

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Author MSS

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist-17 (PSC-17) in a sample of children orphaned or made vulnerable (OVC) by HIV in Zambia. Caregivers of 1,076 OVC (55.1% boys; Mage = 12.91 years) completed the PSC-17. Competing models, including confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), hierarchical CFA, bifactor CFA, exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), and bifactor ESEM, were tested to evaluate the optimal factor structure of the PSC-17. Results showed that the bifactor ESEM provided the best approximation of the PSC-17 data with a well-defined general psychosocial problems factor explaining 72% of the reliable variance in the total score and an internalizing factor containing 63% of reliable variance unique from the general factor. The observed overall psychosocial problems score was associated with lower academic achievement and working memory (with small effect sizes), supporting the discriminant validity of score interpretation. Results of multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) analyses revealed that all items functioned equivalently across child gender and age.

Keywords

HIV/AIDS, sub-Saharan Africa, bifactor ESEM, PSC-17, DIF

Published Open-Access

yes

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