Latent structureScale / measurement

Polytomous Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Polytomous confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) tests a pre-specified factor structure when items have three or more ordered response categories (e.g., Likert scales). By working with polychoric correlations and robust estimators such as WLSMV, it avoids the distortions that arise when ordered categorical data are treated as continuous.

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Sources

  1. Flora, D. B. & Curran, P. J. (2004). An empirical evaluation of alternative methods of estimation for confirmatory factor analysis with ordinal data. Psychological Methods, 9(4), 466–491. DOI: 10.1037/1082-989X.9.4.466
  2. Muthen, B. (1984). A general structural equation model with dichotomous, ordered categorical, and continuous latent variable indicators. Psychometrika, 49(1), 115–132. DOI: 10.1007/BF02294210

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Referenced by

ScholarGatePolytomous Confirmatory Factor Analysis (Polytomous Confirmatory Factor Analysis). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/psychometrics/polytomous-confirmatory-factor-analysis