EGame-flow: psychometric properties of the scale in the Mexican context

Abstract

Purpose

The present study examined the psychometric properties of the EGame- flow scale in a Mexican sample, presenting evidence of construct validity (exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis), reliability (Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega) and discriminant validity (mean variance extracted).

Design/methodology/approach

Participants: Of the 255 Mexican participants in the non-probabilistic sample who had previously interacted with the LOST logistics simulator, 166 (65%) were men and 89 (35%) were women; their ages ranged from 22 to 45. The statistical packages SPSS 25, JASP 0.16 and AMOS 23 facilitated the corresponding analyses. First, we calculated the means and standard deviations of the scale items. Next, we performed an exploratory factor analysis to examine the measurement model’s internal structure and a confirmatory factor analysis to confirm the structure proposed in the exploratory factor analysis. To analyze the internal structure of the measurement model so that the estimates were not affected by multivariate normality problems, we utilized the AMOS bootstrap method (with 500 repetitions, 95% CI), the maximum likelihood (MV) estimation method, and the fit indices: X2, p (chi-square and associated likelihood), Tucker–Lewis index (TLI), standardized statistical mean square residual (SRMR), comparative fit index (CFI) and root mean Square error approximation (RMSEA) with its confidence interval, the values of X2 with p < 0.001; TLI, CFI, AGFI = 0.95; RMSEA and SRMR = 0.08 (Byrne, 2016). Finally, we estimated the reliability of the measurement model with Cronbach’s alpha (a), McDonald’s omega (ω) coefficient and the mean variance extracted (VME).

Findings

An exploratory factor analysis with the MV method and obliminal rotation showed a good fit of the data to the model, which aligns with the significance of the Barlette sphericity test (X2 = 8443.2, p < 0.000) and the Kaiser–Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value of 0.94. The indices confirmed the fit of the data to the six-dimensional model for measuring the users' level of enjoyment of online games (X2 = 678.2 gl = 411, p = 0.000; SRMR = 0.05; TLI = 0.95, CFI = 0.95 and RMSEA = 0.05, IC 90% [0.04, 0.05]).

Research limitations/implications

The self-reporting format of the scale increases the social desirability of the responses, but the sample only collects information from a specific geographic location, so these findings cannot extrapolate to populations with very marked cultural differences. Finally, the study did not measure other validity evidence, such as predictive and concurrent validity, which should be considered in future studies.

Practical implications

From a practical perspective, the study offers a measurement scale with fewer items and robust psychometric evidence that ensures the fit of the data to the EGame-flow measurement scale. Further research must continue to learn about the behavior of the EGame-flow scale in different samples that new evidence of psychometric properties continues to appear and that other factors associated with the users' gaming enjoyment experience are analyzed.

Originality/value

The value and originality of the study lie in the type of evidence of psychometric properties that the instrument has and particularly in the style of sample in which the study is carried out, in this case, in the context of Mexico, where there are not enough instruments that measure the flow experience of users.

Citation

Alcantar-Nieblas, C., Glasserman-Morales, L.D., Pacheco-Velazquez, E.A. and Ramírez Echeverri, S.A. (2024), "EGame-flow: psychometric properties of the scale in the Mexican context", Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-06-2023-0233