Psychometric Properties of the Interpersonal Rejection Sensitivity Scale in a Spanish Sample: Factor Structure, Reliability And Measurement Invariance

Abstract

The Interpersonal Rejection Sensitivity Scale (IRSS) is an 11-item scale designed to measure sensitivity to rejection in interpersonal relationships, based on the Interpersonal Acceptance-Rejection Theory. In a multicultural study, published in 2023 and involving 3,083 participants from eight countries, evidence of partial measurement invariance of the IRSS according to the criteria proposed by Byrne et al. was found, indicating the existence of some cultural differences in the interpretation of the construct. However, the scale has never been validated in the Spanish population. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the psychometric properties of the IRSS in the Spanish sample of 388 people who took part in the multicultural study. First, its internal structure was analyzed by means of exploratory factor analysis in the randomly selected first half of the sample, using maximum likelihood as the factor extraction method. After this, the fit of the model suggested in the previous analyses was studied in a confirmatory factor analysis with the second half of the sample. From these results, the reliability index most suitable for the internal structure of the IRSS was computed. Likewise, the convergent and criterion validity was also studied by analyzing the degree of correlation between the IRSS scores and those of other theoretically relevant scales. Finally, data are provided on the measurement invariance (configural, metric and scalar) achieved between those who responded online and those who responded on paper.