title: The Metacognitions Questionnaire-30: An Examination of a Bifactor Model and Measurement Invariance Among Men and Women in a Community Sample.
abstract: The Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30) is a self-report measure that assesses metacognitive beliefs (i.e., beliefs about thinking). Prior research has supported a correlated five-factor model, but no known published study has examined the tenability of second-order or bifactor models of the MCQ-30. Results supported a bifactor model of the MCQ-30 in a sample of community adults from the United States ( N = 785), as well as separately among men ( n = 372) and women ( n = 413). Multiple-groups confirmatory factor analysis supported the configural and metric/scalar invariance of the bifactor model among men and women. Results further supported the incremental validity of one of the MCQ-30 domain-specific factors in accounting for unique variance in an index of health anxiety beyond the general metacognition factor. Results provide support for a bifactor conceptualization of the MCQ-30 and the invariance of that model across men and women.
authors.affiliation: 1 Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Fergus
authors.affiliation: 2 Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Bardeen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000067489:Metacognition; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: MCQ-30; Metacognitions Questionnaire–30; bifactor; gender; measurement invariance; metacognition