Writing motives and writing self-efficacy of Chinese students in Shanghai and Hong Kong: Measurement invariance and multigroup structural equation analyses

What motivates Chinese students to write? In the present investigation, we examined Chinese students’ writing motives and writing self-efficacy. Grades 4 and 5 Chinese students in Shanghai (n = 332) and Hong Kong (n = 305) completed a survey questionnaire assessing motives for writing using the Writing Motivation Questionnaire and writing self-efficacy based on a revised Writing Self-efficacy Scale. Using multigroup confirmatory factor analyses, measurement invariance was established by examining configural, metric, scalar and residual invariance. Latent means comparison located significant differences between the Chinese groups in relation to writing self-efficacy and writing motives derived from a focus on curiosity, competition and grades. Multigroup structural equation analyses verified a hypothesized direct-mediational model depicting the relationship between writing motives and writing self-efficacy.