Factorial Invariance of the Profile of Mood States (POMS) scale in Mexican adults

The structural validity of the Mexican adaptation to Spanish of the Profile of Mood States Scale (POMS) was examined in samples of healthy and chronically ill adults. Through a non-probabilistic and intentional sampling, 530 adults participated (mean age 35.71, SD= 17); 210 were patients with chronic diseases (cancer and kidney disease) and the rest were healthy adults. An exploratory factor analysis revealed a model of 38 items and 6 factors with acceptable internal consistency indices. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed adequate goodness-of-fit indices. Subsequent multigroup CFA comparing the samples of healthy adults and patients reveal the non-equivalence of the structure in both samples, merging the negative mood factors for the sample of patients and a better distribution in the sample of healthy adults. Different alternative versions are proposed for healthy adult and patient samples.