ROLE-CONFLICT AND ROLE AMBIGUITY AS SUBSTANCE VERSUS ARTIFACT - A CONFIRMATORY FACTOR-ANALYSIS OF HOUSE, SCHULER, AND LEVANONI (1983) SCALES

Despite the tremendous amount of research on role conflict and role ambiguity, several researchers have criticized the construct validity of these measures. Recently, McGee, Ferguson, and Seers (1989) used confirmatory factor analysis to test several measurement models of role conflict and ambiguity. Their results led them to question the substantive meaning of these constructs, but they could not draw any definitive conclusions because of the confounding of content and wording. In the present study, confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the 43 items developed by House, Schuler, and Levanoni (1983). The results suggest that much of the variance in the items is accounted for by wording and other artifactual differences. The need for more specific subscales for role ambiguity and role conflict is discussed.