Examination of the Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance of the SRSS-IE

Abstract

Given the need for a swift, systematic way to identify students with internalizing and externalizing behavior patterns to connect students with appropriate supports, we present new findings of the Student Risk Screening Scale–Internalizing and Externalizing (SRSS-IE). In this article, we examined (a) factor structure of the SRSS-IE and (b) the extent to which measurement invariance holds across gender, special education status, race, and ethnicity, as well as time point (fall, winter, spring) within each school level (elementary, middle, high). The sample includes 124 schools from four U.S. geographic regions in their first year of implementing the SRSS-IE collected over a 10-year span. Using confirmatory factor analysis procedures accounting for the nesting of students within teachers’ classrooms, we confirmed a two-factor structure (internalizing and externalizing) and determined three items may be removed from the instrument while maintaining adequate model fit, pending replication with schools in later stages of screening implementation. All model comparisons between configural, metric, scalar, and strict models met invariance criteria within a time point. Longitudinal models also met these invariance criteria. We discuss educational implications, limitations, and directions for future research.