Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Impulsive–Compulsive Behaviours Checklist in Chinese college students: a bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling approach

Impulsivity and compulsivity are increasingly recognized as transdiagnostic constructs of particular relevance underlying a range of impulsive and compulsive behaviours. The Impulsive-Compulsive Behaviours Checklist (ICBC) was developed to capture the transdiagnostic phenotypes and interrelationships of impulsivity and compulsivity. However, its cultural applicability and psychometric properties have not yet been evaluated in the Chinese cultural context. This study therefore aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the ICBC among Chinese college students. A sample of 2397 Chinese college students completed the ICBC and other validation measures. Item analysis and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were used to screen items. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) were used to compare competing factor structures. In the bifactor-ESEM model, ancillary bifactor indices, including explained common variance (ECV), factor determinacy (FD), construct reliability (H), omega (ω), omega subscale (ω S ), omega hierarchical (ω H ), and omega hierarchical subscale (ω HS ), were calculated. Measurement invariance across gender was subsequently examined. The Chinese version of the ICBC removed the item “Exercising” and the item “Illicit drug use” from the original 33-item scale and incorporated one culturally relevant item “Restraining from food”, resulting in a final 32-item version. Model comparisons indicated that the bifactor exploratory structural equation model (bifactor-ESEM) provided the best fit to the data. The behaviours were conceptualized within one general disinhibition factor and two specific factors, namely impulsive–compulsions and compulsive–impulsions . The general disinhibition factor accounted for 40% of common variance (ECV = 0.40) and showed high factor determinacy (FD = 0.93) and construct reliability (H = 0.88), although its contribution to the total score variance was limited (ω H = 0.55). The compulsive-impulsions factor was clearly defined (ω HS = 0.66, ω S = 0.91, FD = 0.93, H = 0.91), whereas the impulsive-compulsions factor showed limited unique reliable variance (ω HS = 0.33, ω S = 0.88, FD = 0.86, H = 0.78). Factor scores derived from the bifactor-ESEM model showed relatively small but significant associations with external validation measures ranging from −0.17 to 0.46. Test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients, ICCs) ranged from 0.50 to 0.59. Configural, metric, scalar, and residual invariance of the ICBC were supported across gender. The Chinese version of 32-item ICBC showed evidence of a bifactor structure among college students, comprising a general disinhibition factor and two specific factors, impulsive–compulsions and compulsive–impulsions . The bifactor indices suggested that factor scores derived from the bifactor-ESEM model—particularly the general disinhibition factor and the compulsive-impulsions factor—show acceptable psychometric properties; the impulsive–compulsions factor provided relatively limited reliable information beyond the general factor and therefore warrants more cautious interpretation. The total score should not be used, and the general factor, while statistically meaningful, is notably weaker than in prior Western findings.