Cultural identity development in adult forced migrants: The psychometrics of a measure in Arabic, Spanish, and Ukrainian

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess the psychometric equivalence of Arabic-, Spanish-, and Ukrainian-language versions of the Multigroup Ethnic and National Identity Measure (MENI), a measure of cultural identity development comprised of an ethic identity and a national identity scale. The psychometric properties of the three language versions were examined and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to evaluate model fit and test measurement invariance in a sample of adult forced migrants from Syria, Mexico, and Ukraine living in Canada (N = 616). Multigroup CFA provided support for scalar invariance of the ethnic identity scale, allowing meaningful comparisons across the three cultural/language groups. However, the national identity scale demonstrated only configural invariance, suggesting that, although the general structure was consistent, the strength and patterns of relationships differed across groups. The construct and criterion validity of both scales were adequate for assessing identification with the country of origin and the residence country across the three language groups. Based on these findings, we conclude that future research can use the Arabic-, Spanish-, and Ukrainian-language versions of the MENI to assess and compare cultural identity development across these cultural/language groups of adult (forced) migrants, derive identity statuses, and extract acculturation profiles.