A PANAS Structure Analysis: On the Validity of a Bifactor Model in Korean College Students

The purpose of this study was to determine the best model fit among the six models in the Korean version of Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (K-PANAS). Therefore, this study compared and analyzed the dimensional structure of this schedule for Korean college students. Specifically, the model fitness of six models, which are under debate, were compared: a single model for K-PANAS, a two-factor model (PA&NA) without any factor correlation, a three-factor model (PA, NA-Afraid, NA-Upset), a two-factor bifactor model, a three-factor bifactor model, and a three-factor bifactor model with error correlation. A total of 875 samples were analyzed, and the results show that best model fit is the three-factor bifactor model with error correlation. We named the general factor of the bifactor model “activation (or arousal).” This findings of this study will provide a richer explanation of emotions for researchers analyzing emotional activation (or arousal), a general factor of emotion, PA, and NA future studies that use PANAS.