Roberta Rosa Valtorta, Michela Vezzoli, Silvia Mari, Federica Durante, Chiara Volpato
{"title":"Measuring Subjective Inequality: Development and Validation of the Perceived Economic Inequality Scale (PEIS).","authors":"Roberta Rosa Valtorta, Michela Vezzoli, Silvia Mari, Federica Durante, Chiara Volpato","doi":"10.1017/SJP.2024.4","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The main goal of the present research is to develop and validate the Perceived Economic Inequality Scale (PEIS), an instrument measuring individuals' perceptions of economic inequality at the national level. The study was conducted on a representative sample of the Italian population (<i>N</i> = 1,446, 51% women). The factorial structure of the scale was assessed through cross-validated exploratory-confirmatory factor analyses. To inspect the PEIS psychometric properties, item and correlation analyses were performed. The results showed that the PEIS is a valid and reliable unidimensional measure of perceived economic inequality at the national level. Further support of the PEIS construct validity was provided by the correlation of the scale score with the perceived wage gap and ideological beliefs like the economic system justification, social dominance orientation, meritocratic beliefs, and participants' political orientation. Crucially, multigroup confirmatory factor analysis supported configural, metric, and scalar invariances of the scale across socio-demographic groups. The PEIS allows researchers to assess the subjective component of economic inequality by also serving as a useful tool for unpacking the psychological correlates of perceived inequality.</p>","PeriodicalId":54309,"journal":{"name":"Spanish Journal of Psychology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Spanish Journal of Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1017/SJP.2024.4","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The main goal of the present research is to develop and validate the Perceived Economic Inequality Scale (PEIS), an instrument measuring individuals' perceptions of economic inequality at the national level. The study was conducted on a representative sample of the Italian population (N = 1,446, 51% women). The factorial structure of the scale was assessed through cross-validated exploratory-confirmatory factor analyses. To inspect the PEIS psychometric properties, item and correlation analyses were performed. The results showed that the PEIS is a valid and reliable unidimensional measure of perceived economic inequality at the national level. Further support of the PEIS construct validity was provided by the correlation of the scale score with the perceived wage gap and ideological beliefs like the economic system justification, social dominance orientation, meritocratic beliefs, and participants' political orientation. Crucially, multigroup confirmatory factor analysis supported configural, metric, and scalar invariances of the scale across socio-demographic groups. The PEIS allows researchers to assess the subjective component of economic inequality by also serving as a useful tool for unpacking the psychological correlates of perceived inequality.
期刊介绍:
The Spanish Journal of Psychology is published with the aim of promoting the international dissemination of relevant empirical research and theoretical and methodological proposals in the various areas of specialization within psychology.
The first Spanish journal with an international scope published entirely in English.