Poster #20 - Psychometric Testing of the Critical Reflection on Sexism Scale Among Young Adults in the U.S.

• In Event: Poster Session 11

Abstract

The critical consciousness framework has been used to study young people’s beliefs about social inequality, sense of efficacy to challenge oppression, and actions towards promoting social justice (Heberle et al., 2020). Critical reflection (CR), a core component of critical consciousness, refers to people’s critical social analysis of inequality (Watts et al., 2011). Considered a precursor to efficacy and action, CR has been linked to many positive developmental outcomes, such as academic achievement (Seider et al., 2020), sense of belonging (Delia & Krasny, 2018), and community engagement (Fullam, 2017).
Having psychometrically sound measures of CR is necessary for better understanding and promoting it. Much work has gone into developing CR scales (e.g., Diemer et al., 2017; 2020; Rapa et al., 2020; Shin et al., 2016; 2018); however, existing measures are limited in several ways. First, they measure CR globally rather than at the level of particular systems of oppression. Youth may develop CR about different systems (e.g., sexism versus classism) differently, but existing measures have limited ability to tease apart these differences. Second, existing measures focus on attributions of social inequality and do not include other potential components of CR, such as simultaneous acknowledgement of oppression and privilege. Third, the psychometric properties of existing measures have only been tested in limited ways (e.g., full tests of measurement variance between gender groups have not often been tested). This study aimed to address these limitations. We evaluated a 16-item measure of CR specifically about sexism, which also included multiple subconstructs.
In Analysis 1, an exploratory factor analysis of data from 598 White, cisgender, heterosexual young adults (Mage = 22, SDage = 2.23, 300 women (50.2%), 298 men (49.8%)) suggested the best fitting factor structure for the initial item set. A four-factor model fit the data well (RMSEA = .03, 90% [CI] = [.02-.05], SRMR = .01, CFI = .99) with conceptually meaningful factors: Sexism Awareness, Structural Attributions for Gender Inequality, Male Privilege Awareness, and Individual Attributions for Gender Inequality (see Table 1 for model parameters).
In Analysis 2, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with an independent sample of 1,486 Black and White young adults (Mage = 21, SDage = 1.81, 821 cisgender women (55.7%), 1 transgender woman (0.1%), 479 cisgender men (32.2%), 36 transgender men (2.4%), 968 White (65.1%), 518 Black (34.9%)). The four-factor structure also fit these data well (RMSEA = .04, 90% [CI] = [.03-.05], SRMR = .04, CFI = .98) and resulted in a final 12-item measure called the Critical Reflection on Sexism Scale (CROSS) (see Table 2 for model parameters).
In Analysis 3, scores on the CROSS items were tested for measurement invariance between gender and racial groups. Full invariance was supported between cisgender women and cisgender men and between Black and White young adults.
The CROSS offers a more precise measurement option to researchers and practitioners interested in CR and gender equity. The strong psychometric properties of the CROSS suggest that domain-specific measurement strategies are possible and have the potential to help advance understanding of critical consciousness.

Authors

• Matthew N Gee, Tufts University
  Presenting Author

• Sara Kassie Johnson, Tufts University