A Brief Report on Measurement Invariance for the Ethnic Identity Scale Among College-Attending Emerging Adults

Abstract

Ethnic-Racial Identity (ERI) development research has been critical in further understanding youths’ psychological adjustment. The Ethnic Identity Scale (EIS) has been used extensively in this field of research to measure ERI. However, it has not been assessed for full measurement invariance, which is essential to ensure its effectiveness in measuring ERI differences across different ethnic-racial and gender groups. Thus, the current study sought to establish full factorial measurement invariance of the EIS between emerging adult college students across ethnic-racial groups (i.e., Asian American, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, and non-Hispanic White/European American) and genders (i.e., male and female). Participants included 7165 students ( Mage = 19.71 years, SD = 1.50) from 31 colleges and universities across various U.S. regions. Results established full factorial measurement invariance for the EIS across groups. Additionally, we examined construct validity by establishing that associations between ERI and psychological adjustment were consistent across groups. Implications and limitations are discussed.