Healthcare Employees/Individual Contributors/Members/Adults
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese LPI and provide a culturally appropriate instrument for use in Taiwan's nursing.
METHODOLOGY Faculty from 13 baccalaureate and nine associate degree nursing programs in Taiwan were asked to complete the Chinese LPI in relationship to the leadership practices of their institution's nursing deans and directors. A five-point Likert scale was used to assess the frequency of using a leadership behavior. The Chinese Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Form 5X (Shieh, Mills & Waltz, 2001) was used to examine concurrent validity. A total of 369 questionnaires were returned (72% response rate), with the sample being predominantly women (92.5%), married (74%), between the ages of 31-40 years old (64%), with master's degrees (87%).
KEY FINDINGS Cronbach's alpha for the Chinese LPI-Observer was .96 for the total scale and .80 to .91 for the five subscales (leadership practices). For subsequent analyses item 11 and item 20 were discarded. Factor analysis (using 28 items) generated three factors, accounting for 57.3 percent of the total variance. Three items were deleted because they accounted for less than 10 percent of the variance. An additional item was deleted in a subsequent round of factor analysis. The Cronbach alpha for the 24-item Chinese LPI-Observer was .96 and .92, .92 and .87 for the three subscales, respectively. All of the 24 items demonstrated moderate to strong loadings (> .40).
The Pearson product moment correlation was computed between the Chinese MLQ-5X and the Chinese LPI-Observer to assess concurrent validity. The Chinese LPI total and subscales were highly and significantly correlated with the transformational leadership subscale of the Chinese MLQ-5X. The laissez-faire leadership scale ("an inappropriate and ineffective way to lead subordinates") was negatively and significantly correlated with the Chinese LPI-Observer total and subscales. The subscales were labeled Enabling Others to Act (items 3, 8, 9, 13, 18, 21, and 28), Inspiring a Shared Vision (items 1, 2, 4, 5, 12, 17, 24, 26, 27, 29, and 30) and Encouraging the Heart (items 5, 10, 14, 15, and 25). The author's conclude: "The 24-item Chinese LPI with three factors consistently demonstrated sound psychometric properties. This is a culturally appropriate instrument and it can used in Taiwan's nursing education" (p. 12)