Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is a complex, multi-step process. The goal of this paper is to collect, in one article, information that will allow researchers and practitioners to understand the various choices available through popular software packages, and to make decisions about ”best practices” in exploratory factor analysis. In particular, this paper provides practical information on making decisions regarding (a) extraction, (b) rotation, (c) the number of factors to interpret, and (d) sample size.

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Best Practices in Exploratory Factor Analysis: Four Recommendations for Getting the Most from Your Analysis

How people intentionally change addictive behaviors with and without treatment is not well understood by behavioral scientists. This article summarizes research on self-initiated and professionally facilitated change of addictive behaviors using the key transtheoretical constructs of stages and processes of change. Modification of addictive behaviors involves progression through five stages—precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance—and individuals typically recycle through these stages several times before termination of the addiction. Multiple studies provide strong support for these stages as well as for a finite and common set of change processes used to progress through the stages. Research to date supports a transtheoretical model of change that systematically integrates the stages with processes of change from diverse theories of psychotherapy.

http://cedd.org.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/In-Search-of-How-People-Change-Applications-to-Addictive-Behaviours.pdf

In search of how people change: Applications to addictive behaviors.

Despite the widespread use of exploratory factor analysis in psychological research, researchers often make questionable decisions when conducting these analyses. This article reviews the major design and analytical decisions that must be made when conducting a factor analysis and notes that each of these decisions has important consequences for the obtained results. Recommendations that have been made in the methodological literature are discussed. Analyses of 3 existing empirical data sets are used to illustrate how questionable decisions in conducting factor analyses can yield problematic results. The article presents a survey of 2 prominent journals that suggests that researchers routinely conduct analyses using such questionable methods. The implications of these practices for psychological research are discussed, and the reasons for current practices are reviewed.

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Evaluating the use of exploratory factor analysis in psychological research.

The transtheoretical model posits that health behavior change involves progress through six stages of change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination. Ten processes of change have been identified for producing progress along with decisional balance, self-efficacy, and temptations. Basic research has generated a rule of thumb for at-risk populations: 40% in precontemplation, 40% in contemplation, and 20% in preparation. Across 12 health behaviors, consistent patterns have been found between the pros and cons of changing and the stages of change. Applied research has demonstrated dramatic improvements in recruitment, retention, and progress using stage-matched interventions and proactive recruitment procedures. The most promising outcomes to date have been found with computer-based individualized and interactive interventions. The most promising enhancement to the computer-based programs are personalized counselors. One of the most striking results to date for stag...

The Transtheoretical Model of Health Behavior Change

Practical problems that are frequently encountered in applications of covariance structure analysis are discussed and solutions are suggested. Conceptual, statistical, and practical requirements fo...

Practical Issues in Structural Modeling

Subjects (A' = 970) representing five stages of smoking cessation (precontemplation, contemplation,action, maintenance, and relapse) were given a 65-item test measuring 10 basic processes of change.Subjects recorded the last time they quit smoking, their current use, the frequency of occurrence,and the degree of item helpfulness. A 40-item questionnaire provided highly reliable measures of 10processes of change, labeled (a)consciousness raising, (b) dramatic relief, (c) self-liberation, (d)socialliberation, (e) counterconditioning, (f) stimulus control, (g) self-reevaluation, (h) environmental re-evaluation, (i) reinforcement management, and (j) helping relationship. In a confirmatory analysis,770 subjects were assessed 6 months later. The analysis both confirmed the 10-process model andrevealed two secondary factors, Experiential and Behavioral, which were composed of 5 processeseach and reflected hou. individuals in particular stages use more lhan I process at a time. The trans-theoretical model of change and available external validity evidence are reviewed.

/pdf/measuring-processes-of-change-applications-to-the-cessation-454n76nh68.pdf

Measuring processes of change: applications to the cessation of smoking.

Randomized Controlled Trial Testing the Effects of Weight Loss on Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

Affects of variable and subject sampling on factor pattern recovery.

The concept of a construct is central to many of the advances in the behavioral sciences during the second half of this century. Constructs serve to summarize, organize, and facilitate the interpretation of data. The concept of a construct also permits us to move directly from data analysis to theory development and testing. Factor analysis and component analysis are two very similar methods that facilitate the transition from dealing with a large number of observed variables to a smaller number of constructed or latent variables. Douglas Jackson employed factor or component analysis as an integral part of his sequential approach to the development of psychological measures (Jackson, 1970, 1971). It has become a standard part of measure development and is one of the most employed statistical procedures in the behavioral sciences.

Construct Explication through Factor or Component Analysis: A Review and Evaluation of Alternative Procedures for Determining the Number of Factors or Components

Background Since many successful dieters regain the weight they lose, programs that teach maintenance skills are needed. We developed a maintenance program based on self-regulation theory and tested the efficacy of delivering the program face to face or over the Internet. Methods We randomly assigned 314 participants who had lost a mean of 19.3 kg of body weight in the previous 2 years to one of three groups: a control group, which received quarterly newsletters (105 participants), a group that received face-to-face intervention (105), and a group that received Internet-based intervention (104). The content of the programs in the two intervention groups was the same, emphasizing daily self-weighing and self-regulation, as was the frequency of contact with the groups. The primary outcome was weight gain over a period of 18 months. Results The mean (±SD) weight gain was 2.5±6.7 kg in the face-to-face group, 4.7±8.6 kg in the Internet group, and 4.9±6.5 kg in the control group, with a significant difference ...

https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa061883

Joseph L. Fava

Papers

Measuring processes of change: applications to the cessation of smoking.

Randomized Controlled Trial Testing the Effects of Weight Loss on Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

Affects of variable and subject sampling on factor pattern recovery.

Construct Explication through Factor or Component Analysis: A Review and Evaluation of Alternative Procedures for Determining the Number of Factors or Components

A Self-Regulation Program for Maintenance of Weight Loss