The Potential for Using a Shortened Version of the Everyday Discrimination Scale in Population Research with Young Adults: A Construct Validation Investigation

Citation

Benner, Aprile D.; Chen, Shanting; Fernandez, Celeste C.; & Hayward, Mark D. (2022). The Potential for Using a Shortened Version of the Everyday Discrimination Scale in Population Research with Young Adults: A Construct Validation Investigation. Sociological Methods & Research.

Abstract

Discrimination is associated with numerous psychological health outcomes over the life course. The nine-item Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS) is one of the most widely used measures of discrimination; however, this nine-item measure may not be feasible in large-scale population health surveys where a shortened discrimination measure would be advantageous. The current study examined the construct validity of a combined two-item discrimination measure adapted from the EDS by Add Health (N=14,839) as compared to the full nine-item EDS and a two-item EDS scale (parallel to the adapted combined measure) used in the National Survey of American Life (NSAL; N=1,111) and National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) studies (N=1,055). Results identified convergence among the EDS scales, with high item-total correlations, convergent validity, and criterion validity for psychological outcomes, thus providing evidence for the construct validity of the two-item combined scale. Taken together, the findings provide support for using this reduced scale in studies where the full EDS scale is not available.

URL

https://doi.org/10.1177/00491241211067512

Keyword(s)

discrimination, construct validation,

Reference Type

Journal Article

Journal Title

Sociological Methods & Research

Author(s)

Benner, Aprile D.
Chen, Shanting
Fernandez, Celeste C.
Hayward, Mark D.

Year Published

2022

DOI

10.1177/00491241211067512

Reference ID

9638