RESEARCH: "Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Allport and Ross Religious Orientation Scale With a Polish Sample"

Using a sample of 303 Catholic Polish university students, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to assess the goodness of fit of two- (Intrinsic and Extrinsic) and three-factor (Intrinsic, Personal Extrinsic, and Social Extrinsic) conceptual models to the Allport and Ross Religious Orientation Scale (ROS). Although the results of the CFA appear to provide general support for the unitary nature of the intrinsic construct, the superiority of the two-factor conceptualization of extrinsicness over the original one-factor formulation, and the overall adequacy of the three-dimensional structure of the ROS, the pattern of item cross-loadings revealed that the factorial structure of the ROS is complex and suggests that the constructs purportedly assessed by the instrument may not be invariant across cultures. The present findings may be seen as falling in line with previously made arguments (e.g., Byrne & Watkins, 2003) concerning the inherent limitations of establishing the cross-cultural validity of measurement instruments.