title: Measuring the intrapersonal component of psychological empowerment: confirmatory factor analysis of the sociopolitical control scale.
abstract: The Sociopolitical Control Scale (SPCS) is a widely used measure of the intrapersonal component of psychological empowerment. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were conducted with data from two samples to test the hypothesized structure of the SPCS, the potential effects of method bias on the measure's psychometric properties, and whether a revised version of the scale (SPCS-R) yielded improved model fit. Sample 1 included 316 randomly selected community residents of the Midwestern United States. Sample 2 included 750 community residents of the Northeastern U.S. Results indicated that method bias from the use of negatively worded items had a significant effect on the factor structure of the SPCS. CFA of the SPCS-R, in which negatively worded items were rephrased so that all statements were positively worded, supported the measure's hypothesized two-factor structure (i.e., leadership competence and policy control). Subscales of the SPCS-R were found reliable and related in expected ways with measures of community involvement. Implications of the study for empowerment-based research and practice are described, and strategies to further develop the SPCS are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community & Behavioral Health, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, 200 Hawkins Drive, E238 GH, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. andrew-peterson@uiowa.edu
authors.forename: N Andrew
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Lowe
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hughey
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.forename: Marc A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.forename: Paul W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Speer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States; D009511:New England; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011640:Public Policy; D012424:Rural Population; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires