Measurement invariance of the multigroup ethnic identity scale in elderly population belonging to andean indigenous peoples of northern Chile

Abstract

The present study evaluated the factor structure and measurement invariance of the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measurement (MEIM) scale in the older adult population of the Indigenous Andean peoples of Chile. The sample size was of 978 participants with an average age of 71.14 years. The confirmatory factor analysis technique was used to evaluate the two-factor structure, exploration and affirmation, proposed by previous studies. To this evaluation was added the analysis of invariance, restricting criteria for the five Indigenous Andean people according to the configural, metric and partial scalar level. The results of the study showed these three levels of invariance, which implies that the MEIM provides comparable results among the peoples evaluated. This is relevant because it confirms the evidence of the MEIM as a measurement instrument for ethnic identity, in this case in elderly population, which also allows comparing the construct among the Indigenous Andean peoples of northern Chile.