Measurement Invariance of the Perceived Invalidation of Emotion Scale: An Examination Across Race/Ethnicity, Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Intersection of Identities

Abstract

The Perceived Invalidation of Emotions Scale (PIES), developed to measure emotional invalidation, could aid research efforts on various internalizing disorders and minority mental health. A prerequisite for its use includes its psychometric evaluation in diverse samples; thus, the current study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the PIES in a combined sample of minoritized adults ( N = 876). Results supported a unidimensional structure of the PIES that was invariant across the two minoritized samples, race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and intersections of race/ethnicity and sexual orientation. A reduced 7- and 4-item PIES with improved unidimensionality and consequentially more interpretable total scores were generated using item response theory analyses. Significant correlations observed between theoretically relevant constructs of adverse mental health outcomes and the PIES above and beyond identity-based discrimination supported the construct validity of the PIES. Implications include the disproportionate amount of emotional invalidation experienced by individuals with minoritized sexual orientation, which may reflect the recent increases in discrimination faced by these individuals.