Latent structure of the sense of coherence scale in a French sample

The validity and latent structure of both versions of the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOCS-29 and SOCS-13) were evaluated here for a French sample (N = 647). The reliability of both SOCS versions was found to be satisfactory and their temporal stability, acceptable. The convergent and discriminant validity of both versions can be judged positively. Concerning the dimensionality of the SOCS, four competing measurement models (three first-order models and one second-order model) were tested using the robust statistics provided by Bender's EQS program. The best-fitting model for both versions was a three-correlated-factor model, initially proposed by Antonovsky, that includes Manageability, Meaningfulness, and Comprehensibility v. However, correlations between measurement error on some items were needed to achieve the model fit. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.