title: Factorial structural analysis of the Spanish version of WHOQOL-BREF: an exploratory structural equation model study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Methodology of Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, sbenitez@ub.edu.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Benitez-Borrego
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guàrdia-Olmos
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Urzúa-Morales
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002489:Central America; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D013020:South America; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014944:World Health Organization; D055815:Young Adult