title: Testing For Measurement Invariance of Attachment Across Chinese and American Adolescent Samples.
abstract: Adolescent attachment to formal and informal institutions has emerged as a major focus of criminological theories since the publication of Hirschi's work in 1969. This study attempts to examine the psychometric equivalence of the factorial structure of attachment measures across nations reflecting Western and Eastern cultures. Twelve manifest variables are used tapping the concepts of adolescent attachment to parents, school, and neighborhood. Confirmatory factor analysis is used to conduct invariance test across approximately 3,000 Chinese and U.S. adolescents. Results provide strong support for a three-factor model; the multigroup invariance tests reveal mixed results. While the family attachment measure appears invariant between the two samples, significant differences in the coefficients of the factor loadings are detected in the school attachment and neighborhood attachment measures. The results of regression analyses lend support to the predictive validity of three types of attachment. Finally, the limitations of the study are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, USA Lren@shsu.edu.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Jihong Solomon
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Ni Phil
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Ineke Haen
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.affiliation: Guangxi University, Nanning, China.
authors.forename: Hongwei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: University of Macau, Macau, China.
authors.forename: Ruohui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang Police College, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002681:China; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012574:Schools; D014481:United States
keywords: American adolescents; Chinese adolescents; family attachment; measurement invariance test; neighborhood attachment; school attachment