Assessing alternative models of individualism and collectivism: A confirmatory factor analysis

Six alternative structural models of individualism-collectivism are reviewe d and empirically compared in a confirmatory factor analysis of questionnai re data from an Australian student sample (N=340). Central to the debate ab out the structure of this broad social attitude are the issues of (I) polar ity (are individualism and collectivism bipolar opposites, or orthogonal fa ctors?) and (2) dimensionality (are individualism and collectivism themselv es higher-order constructs subsuming several more specific factors and, if so, what are they?). The data from this Australian sample support a model t hat represents individualism and collectivism as a higher-order bipolar fac tor hierarchically subsuming several bipolar reference-group-specific indiv idualisms and collectivisms. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.