Using the short subscales of a questionnaire to assess subcomponents with low reliabilities: a cautionary note.
Author: Abdel Khalek A, Lester D
Source:
Psychological reports, 90(3_part_2), 1255-1256.
Some authors of personality questionnaires use factor analysis with the aim of
constructing subcomponents to assess subsidiary traits within the broad domain
tapped by the scale. However, these short subscales suffer from low reliabilities
in most cases. The findings of using the Maudsley Obsessional-Compulsive
Inventory in American (n=73) and Kuwaiti (n=87) college students justified the
caution against using such short subscales with low reliabilities, inasmuch as 7
out of the 8 alpha reliabilities were less than .69, ranged from .35 to .68, and
the median was .56.