A Rasch Analysis of a Measure of Computer Anxiety

A number of tests have been constructed in an attempt to measure the psychological construct computer anxiety. Although some of these studies have reported dimensions of computer anxiety as a result of factor analyses, these dimensions have varied in their number and description. Other studies have assumed unidimensionality of this construct. The present study has tested the dimensionality of the computer-anxiety index (CAIN) by Rasch analysis of the responses of 372 eleven- to twelve-year-old elementary school students. Rasch analysis enabled the students' response patterns to each question to be compared with their responses for all other questions in the questionnaire to determine the extent to which that question measured the same underlying variable as the other questions. Results indicated that six of the twenty-six items did not measure the same underlying trait as the other twenty and that several of the accepted items were apparently redundant. The use of the shortened (20-item) CAIN is recommended.