The Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised: Factor structure in a culturally and sociodemographically diverse sample in the United States

Abstract

The recommended factor structure for the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (IBQ-R), a widely used parent-report measure of infant temperament, has limited empirical support. Moreover, the recommended factors were developed using homogenous samples not representative of current United States (U.S.) sociodemographics. The objective of this study was to examine the factor structure of the IBQ-R in a culturally and sociodemographically diverse U.S. cohort (N=380 mother-infant dyads). Mothers were assessed during pregnancy on a range of cultural and sociodemographic characteristics and completed the IBQ-R when their infants were 6 months of age. The sample was diverse on maternal marital status, educational attainment, household income, race/ethnicity, primary language spoken, and country of birth. Initial confirmatory factor analysis for the recommended three-factor model yielded a poor fit. Modifications employed in other studies failed to improve model fit. An exploratory factor analysis revealed an acceptable model fit for a three-factor solution that showed similarities to as well as differences from the originally proposed factor structure. Additional analyses suggested lack of invariance on several factor and scale scores by maternal country of birth, race/ethnicity, and household income. The findings suggest that the commonly used IBQ-R factor structure may need to be adjusted for diverse samples and deserves further study.

Keywords: Cultural differences; Factor analysis; Factor structure; Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (IBQ-R); Sociodemographic diversity; Temperament.

Figure 1

Exploratory factor analysis model of the IBQ-R structure in the current sample (N = 380). Standardized parameter estimates are presented. Solid lines indicate significant paths (p < .05) and dashed lines non-significant paths (p ≥ .05). SUR = Surgency; NEG = Negative Affectivity; REG = Orienting/Regulation; VR = Vocal Reactivity; HP = High Intensity Pleasure; SL = Smiling and Laughter; ACT = Activity Level; PS = Perceptual Sensitivity; SAD = Sadness; DL = Distress to Limitations; FALL = Falling Reactivity/Rate of Recovery from Distress; LP = Low Intensity Pleasure; DO = Duration of Orienting.

Figure 2

Multiple Indicator Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model examining the impact of cultural and sociodemographic covariates on the three latent factors and on the manifest variables. Standardized parameter estimates are presented. Solid lines indicate significant paths (p < .05) and dashed lines non-significant paths (p ≥ .05). All covariates are binary. Maternal country of birth was dichotomized into U.S.-born and non-U.S.-born (reference group). Annual household income was dichotomized using a median split as ≥ $40,000 versus < $40,000 (reference group). For race/ethnicity, White was treated as the reference group; participants reporting a race/ethnicity other than White, Black/Haitian, or Hispanic were excluded. SUR = Surgency; NEG = Negative Affectivity; REG = Orienting/Regulation; VR = Vocal Reactivity; HP = High Intensity Pleasure; SL = Smiling and Laughter; ACT = Activity Level; PS = Perceptual Sensitivity; SAD = Sadness; DL = Distress to Limitations; FALL = Falling Reactivity/Rate of Recovery from Distress; LP = Low Intensity Pleasure; DO = Duration of Orienting.