Factor structure and measurement invariance of the Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire-Community Version Brief

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire-Community Version Brief (PEDQ-CVB) is a widely used brief multidimensional measure of general racial discrimination for both students and community populations. We evaluated the factor structure and measurement equivalency of the PEDQ-CVB across diverse racial/ethnic and gender groups. The groups in the current study were Black (N = 306), Asian (N = 310), Latinx (N = 163), multiracial (N = 108), women (N = 555), and men (N = 372). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and test of competing models suggested that the four-factor and bifactor (with four specific factors and one general factor) models were best fitting and most conceptually meaningful. Based on the bifactor model, the PEDQ-CVB could be represented unidimensionally (total scale score) for applied measurement. Multi-group CFAs found evidence of measurement invariance for configural, metric, and scalar models across racial/ethnic and gender groups, suggesting that men and women, and individuals self-identifying as Black, Asian, Latinx and multiracial, interpreted PEDQ-CVB items in a similar fashion. Our findings substantiate the utility of the PEDQ-CVB as a brief general measure of racial/ethnic discrimination and the validity of results from prior studies that used the PEDQ-CVB. Study limitations and future directions for research are discussed.