Chronic and contextual identity salience: Assessing dual-dimensional salience with the Identity Salience Questionnaire (ISQ)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Identity Salience is a common construct within social identity research. However, researchers note that it is poorly defined and inconsistently operationalized. We posit that identity salience comprises two elements: chronic (perpetually thinking about the identity) and contextual (only thinking about the identity when prompted) salience. We present evidence for this claim through the development and validation of the dual-dimensional Identity Salience Questionnaire (ISQ). Studies 1-2 (Ns=414; 1,069) provide exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic evidence of the ISQ among LGBTIQA+ participants. Study 2 also provides evidence of measurement invariance, convergent, predictive, and discriminant validity, and internal reliability. Study 3 (N=318) indicates strong test-retest reliability. Study 4 (N=107 social psychologists) confirms the ISQ’s content validity. Future research for the ISQ is discussed.