Cross-cultural comparative examination of the Academic Motivation Scale using exploratory structural equation modeling

The goal of the present research was to the cross-cultural examination of the factor structure of the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) and its extensive invariance testing with exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM). Three comprehensive samples were collected: a Hungarian high school (N = 1139), a Hungarian university (N = 1163) samples, and a French university (N = 1009) sample. Compared to confirmatory factor analysis, ESEM demonstrated better model fit and less inflated inter-factor correlations in all three samples. Among Hungarian high school students, intrinsic dimensions were less differentiated. Gender invariance was confirmed on the level of latent means. As for age- and language invariance, only configural invariance was supported. The AMS showed mostly adequate reliability and good temporal stability. Based on the present and prior studies, ESEM appears to be the most adequate analytic strategy for the deeper understanding of academic motivations measured by the AMS.