Revising the BIS/BAS Scale to study development: Measurement invariance and normative effects of age and sex from childhood through adulthood.

TLDR

Carver and White’s BIS/BAS scales are widely used to assess reward‑punishment sensitivity, yet their factor structure and developmental invariance remain inadequately tested. The study aims to refine the BIS/BAS scales by re‑examining their factor structure across developmental stages and identifying problematic items. Researchers evaluated the BIS/BAS factor structure in five age groups (6–10, 11–13, 14–16, 18–22, 30–45 years) and, after exploratory factor analyses revealed poor fit of the standard 4‑factor model, removed the BAS Fun Seeking subscale and problematic items to improve model fit. The revised model achieved strict invariance across age and sex, showed improved fit, revealed nonlinear age effects with higher scores in young adulthood, and identified sex differences emerging in adolescence and adulthood that may explain increased internalizing psychopathology in females.

Abstract

Carver and White's (1994) Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS) Scales have been useful tools for studying individual differences in reward-punishment sensitivity; however, their factor structure and invariance across development have not been well tested. In the current study, we examined the factor structure of the BIS/BAS Scales across 5 age groups: 6- to 10-year-old children (N = 229), 11- to 13-year-old early adolescents (N = 311), 14- to 16-year-old late adolescents (N = 353), 18- to 22-year-old young adults (N = 844), and 30- to 45-year-old adults (N = 471). Given poor fit of the standard 4-factor model (BIS, Reward Responsivity, Drive, Fun Seeking) in the literature, we conducted exploratory factor analyses in half of the participants and identified problematic items across age groups. The 4-factor model showed poor fit in our sample, whereas removing the BAS Fun Seeking subscale and problematic items from the remaining subscales improved fit in confirmatory factor analyses conducted with the second half of the participants. The revised model showed strict invariance across age groups and by sex, indicating consistent factor structure, item loadings, thresholds, and unique or residual variances. Additionally, in our cross-sectional data, we observed nonlinear relations between age and subscale scores, where scores tended to be higher in young adulthood than in childhood and later adulthood. Furthermore, sex differences emerged across development; adolescent and adult females had higher BIS scores than males in this age range, whereas sex differences were not observed in childhood. These differences may help us to understand the rise in internalizing psychopathology in adolescence, particularly in females. Future developmental studies are warranted to examine the impact of rewording problematic items.