Judging identities based on historicity: discriminative validity of Ethnic identity delegitimization scale

Abstract

In this study, we further explored the validity of a novel psychological construct – Ethnic identity delegitimization (EIDL), a general tendency to question the legitimacy of ethnic groups that have been existing shorter than one’s ethnic ingroup. Since it is based on historicity (i.e., the length of a group’s existence), we tested its discriminative validity in comparison to two other historicity-based constructs: Autochthony beliefs and Collective self-continuity. A total of 138 psychology students (84% women) filled in three questionnaires: 1) short version of EIDL scale, 2) Autochthony beliefs scale, and 3) short Collective self-continuity scale. We performed confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), to contrast two different models: 1) a three-factor model with three mutually related but separated constructs, and 2) a one-factor model where all the items loaded on the same factor. The analysis indicated an excellent fit of the three-factor model, while the one-factor model had a suboptimal fit. Correlations between the three factors were moderate. The results confirm discriminative validity of Ethnic identity delegitimization, as well as its hypothesized relations to Autochthony beliefs and Collective self-continuity.