A factor-analytic study of the social problem-solving inventory: An integration of theory and data

Restricted (confirmatory) and unrestricted (exploratory) factor analyses were used to investigate the factor structure of the Social Problem-Solving Inventory (SPSI; D'Zurilla & Nezu, 1990). The SPSI is based on a theoretical model consisting of two general components (problem orientation and problem-solving skills) which are further divided into seven primary subcomponents (cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects of problem orientation and four specific problem-solving skills). Thus, both a two-factor model and a hierarchical model with seven first-order factors and two second-order factors were tested The results provided only modest support for the two-factor model, and the hierarchical model failed to show substantial improvement over this model. Further analyses using exploratory as well as confirmatory methods found that an alternative five-factor model was best for the SPSI in the sense of goodness of fit, parsimony, and cross-validation. The implications of these results for social problem-solving theory and assessment are discussed.