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The Validity of the Factor Structure of the General Social Survey Environmentalism Scales Across Gender and Ethnicity in the United States

California State University, Sacramento

Kevin Wehr

California State University, Sacramento

Environmental and behavioral researchers have recently called for model-based empirical methods to address the validity of measurement instruments across diverse populations. Multiple group confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) is a powerful and versatile tool for investigating measurement equivalence/invariance (ME/I) for group comparison research. In this study, a MGCFA was performed to examine the ME/I of the General Social Survey environmentalism scale used in attitudinal research by Uyeki and Holland (2000). Measurement equivalence/invariance was found to be absent across gender and ethnicity in the United States, thus making it difficult to interpret between-group differences on the constructs being measured. W. E. B. Du Bois's concept of double consciousness is explored as a theoretical foundation for understanding why varying racial and gender groups might understand latent constructs differently.

Key Words: validity • environmental scales • multiple group confirmatory factor analysis • gender • ethnicity

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