PANAS Models of Positive and Negative Affectivity for Adolescent Boys.

The measurement of affect is often of central interest in adolescent research. Very few studies have investigated the factor structure underlying adolescent responses to the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, with mixed results. Only two studies reported on the trait version: one in Florida, the other in Chile. This study compared a range of prominent models to capture responses from adolescent boys from grades 7 to 12 in Australia (N = 1431) employing confirmatory factor analyses. Models included two, three, and a recently proposed bifactor model. While most models showed reasonable fit compared to a one-factor solution, cross-loading of the item feeling "strong" enhanced fit to the data. In the end, interpretation and parsimony advocate for the adoption of the uncorrelated two-factor Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) model for representing general positive and negative affectivity in boys.