Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory: Exploratory Factor Analysis of the Romanian version

Abstract

Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory (K-MPAI) is one of the most widely used instruments in the research of music performance anxiety. The aim of this study was to investigate the factor structure of the Romanian version of K-MPAI. A sample of 420 (aged 18–66, M = 24.46, SD = 7.36; 48% women and 52% men) musicians completed the K-MPAI. Exploratory factor analysis with principal axis factoring and oblimin rotation method indicated eight factors which explained 49.16% of variance. Due to the overestimation of the number of factors by the Kaiser’s criterion of 1, parallel analysis with the syntax provided by O’Connor was implemented. Four factors were extracted which explained 41.37% of variance. They were named “music performance anxiety symptoms,” “depression and hopelessness,” “parental support,” and “memory self-efficacy.” Results partially support the theoretical model which sustained the development of K-MPAI, and further clinical implications for the Romanian musician population are discussed.