An Exploration of the Indecisiveness Scale in Multiethnic Malaysia

Abstract

This article examined the construct of indecisiveness, or the inability to make timely decisions, in a multiethnic sample from Malaysia. In all, 164 (84 women, 80 men) Malay participants and 150 (76 women, 74 men) Chinese participants completed a Malay version of Frost and Shows's Indecisiveness Scale. Results showed that interitem reliabilities for both ethnic groups were high. Test-retest reliability with 21 participants after 10 days was also very high. The results of a confirmatory factor analysis testing the equivalency of a hypothesized single factorial structure for Malays and Chinese showed adequate fit for both ethnic groups. Based on single factorial structure, there were significant ethnic differences on overall indecisiveness scores (with Malays being more indecisive than Chinese) but no sex differences. These results are discussed in terms of previous cross-cultural work using the Indecisiveness Scale.