Gender differences on negative affectivity: An IRT study of differential item functioning on the multidimensional personality questionnaire stress reaction scale

Item response theory methods were used to study differential item functioni ng (DIF) between gender groups on a measure of stress reaction. Results rev ealed that women were more likely to endorse items describing emotional vul nerability and sensitivity, whereas men were more likely to endorse items d escribing tension, irritability, and being easily upset. Item factor analys is yielded 5 correlated factors, and the DIF analysis, in turn, revealed di fferential gender mean differences on these factors. This finding illustrat es how even in an essentially unidimensional scale, comparison of group mea n differences can be affected by multidimensionality caused by item cluster s that share similar content. Results do not Support arguments that measure s of negative affective dispositions "artificially" produce gender mean dif ferences by focusing on specific selected content areas.