Reading Motivation: Multidimensional and Indeterminate.

The Motivations for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ) contains 54 items that are posited to tap 11 dimensions of reading motivation. The structural validity of the MRQ was investigated with 2 samples: (a) 328 students in Grades 3–5 from 2 suburban mid-Atlantic elementary schools and (b) 735 students in Grades 3–5 in 2 suburban southwestern elementary schools. With confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs), the theoretical 11-factor structure did not adequately fit the data in either sample. Subsequently, exploratory factor analyses found 8 factors for each sample with 6 factors defined by only 3 or 4 common items. However, a double CFA cross-validation found an inadequate fit for both samples. Given these results, the authors suggest that the MRQ be revised. Literacy research has traditionally focused on cognitive aspects of reading, such as word recognition and comprehension (Adams, 1990), and much has been learned about the development and teaching of reading skills (Rayner, Foorman, Perfetti, Pesetsky, & Seidenberg, 2001; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). However, in order for students to develop into effective readers, they must possess both the skill and the will to read (Paris & Oka, 1986). As