Abstract
ABSTRACT The authors examined the dimensionality and psychometric properties of the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) among Black South African adolescents (ages = 13–14; 52% female) representing several ethnic groups (Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu) and evaluated the measure for differential item functioning primarily among four ethnic groups (Sotho, Tswana, Xhosa, and Zulu). Results indicated that a two-dimensional model best represented the data, reflecting ethnic search/clarity and ethnic affirmations. Subsequently, we evaluated the equivalence of the MEIM among the four South African ethnic groups and a sample of African American adolescents (Mage = 15.57 years; SD = 1.22; 51% female). Further analyses revealed that configural and metric models were excellent across the four South African ethnic groups and the African American group. However, scalar invariance (i.e., intercept) was not found; the item intercepts were different for the South African ethnic groups and African Americans. Findings are discussed with consideration for conducting research on ethnic identity among youth in South Africa.
Highlights
Identity formation is a cognitive, developmental, and psychological process through which a person explores, negotiates, and comes to understand and establish their place in the social world at a particular time in history (Erikson, 1968)
We examined the psychometric properties of a widely used ethnic identity measure, the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM; Phinney, 1992), in a sample of Black South African youth representing several ethnic groups and examined its equivalence to a sample of African American adolescents from the United States, for whom ethnic identity has been established as a prominent psychological construct (Resnicow, Soler, Braithwaite, Selassie, & Smith, 1999; Roberts et al, 1999; Umaña-Taylor, 2011; Umaña-Taylor et al, 2014)
Located in the Gauteng province, Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa, with an estimated 4.4 million residents, of whom 76.4% are classified as Black/African, 12.3% are classified as White, 5.6% are classified as Coloured, and 4.9% are classified as Indian/Asian
Summary
Identity formation is a cognitive, developmental, and psychological process through which a person explores, negotiates, and comes to understand and establish their place in the social world at a particular time in history (Erikson, 1968). Studies conceptualizing and empirically examining ethnic identity have expanded notably since the 1990s (see Schwartz et al, 2014; Umaña-Taylor, 2011), relatively few studies have examined this construct among youth in African contexts One reason for this is the lack of studies assessing the psychometric properties (e.g., reliability, validity, measurement equivalence) of ethnic identity measures among African populations (e.g., Bornman, 1999; Worrell, Conyers, Mpofu, & Vandiver, 2006). We use terms ascribed to race (e.g., Black and White) as they are typically understood in South Africa due to apartheid separation and ethnicity to refer to ethnic and/or cultural groups that may share racial group classification but vary in language, heritage, and traditions (e.g., Sotho, Xhosa, Zulu). The idea of the “rainbow nation” and an emphasis on an overarching South African national identity emerged after the first democratic elections (Alexander, 2002; Peberdy, 2001), and new perspectives were adopted in South Africa regarding social policy and socially acceptable (and prohibited) practices around racial and ethnic diversity and interracial and intercultural group contact (Ferguson & Adams, 2016)
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