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Factorial structural analysis of the Spanish version of WHOQOL-BREF: an exploratory structural equation model study

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to analyze the factor structure of the abbreviated Spanish version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF; WHOQOL Group in Psychol Med 28(3): 551–558, 1998b) questionnaire in a sample of individuals from several Spanish-speaking countries.

Method

The data were based on a sample of 1,972 undergraduates from nine Spanish-speaking countries. Within the framework of a somewhat wider research protocol, they were administered the WHOQOL-BREF.

Results

The data were initially analyzed using a confirmatory factor analysis, which yielded a poor fit to the four-factor theoretical model. Based on these results, the best solution was estimated assuming structural invariance across countries. The data showed a four-factor structure that differed slightly from the model proposed. This four-factor model was subsequently analyzed using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM; Asparouhov and Muthén in Struct Equ Model 16(3): 397–438, 2009) to obtain the invariant structure across countries and an estimation of the relation between the four latent factors. The results obtained allowed us to establish that the factor structure of WHOQOL-BREF maintains the four-factor solution hypothesized for a Spanish-speaking population, although the solution has a different and more complex configuration than the original one with a clear tendency toward non-orthogonality of the latent factors.

Conclusions

As has been suggested by some studies on the application of ESEM, it is reasonable to think that the ESEM approximation is a useful approach for conducting the factor analysis of instruments measuring complex psychological phenomena.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca de la Generalitat de Catalunya and the Grup de Recerca en Tècniques Estadístiques Avançades Aplicades a la Psicologia (GTEAAP). This research was made possible by the PSI2010-21214-C02-01 project and was carried out by members of the Generalitat de Catalunya’s SGR 388 Consolidated Research Group.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Methodology of Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Sonia Benitez-Borrego & Joan Guàrdia-Olmos

  2. Institute for Research on the Brain, Cognition and Behavior (IR3C), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Joan Guàrdia-Olmos

  3. Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile

    Alfonso Urzúa-Morales

Authors
  1. Sonia Benitez-Borrego
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  2. Joan Guàrdia-Olmos
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  3. Alfonso Urzúa-Morales
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Correspondence to Sonia Benitez-Borrego.

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Benitez-Borrego, S., Guàrdia-Olmos, J. & Urzúa-Morales, A. Factorial structural analysis of the Spanish version of WHOQOL-BREF: an exploratory structural equation model study. Qual Life Res 23, 2205–2212 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-014-0663-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-014-0663-2

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