Item Analysis and Differential Item Functioning of a Coping Style Scale for Adolescents Using Bifactor Analysis

In this study we examine the psychometric characteristics of a Coping Style Scale for Adolescents questionnaire in Chinese teenagers using generalized full-information item bifactor analysis (see Li Cai, Ji Seung Yang, and Mark Hansen, 2011). A total of 1138 subjects of average age 16.88 years were recruited to complete the 34-item Coping Style Scale for Adolescents. Scale internal structure, item difficulty and discrimination, test information, and differential item functioning (DIF) were examined. The generalized bifactor model demonstrated good fit for the theoretical internal structure of the Coping Style Scale for Adolescents. The item difficulty is suitable for the subjects, and the majority of items discriminated at a moderate to high level along both general and domain-specific latent dimensions, and DIF by gender and grade was detected. Bifactor analysis provided a good fit for the Coping Style Scale for Adolescents and provides a comprehensive method of psychometric evaluation of the scale. The dimensionality of the scale is consistent with clinical theory. These findings provide support for the use of multidimensional modeling to examine item characteristics of Coping Style Scale for Adolescents.