Adaptation and validation of the Self-Censorship Orientation (SCO) scale into Spanish (Adaptación y validación de la escala de Orientación a la Autocensura (OAC) al español)

Abstract

Self-censorship orientation — that is, the preference to hide truthful information — is determined by multiple individual, group and contextual factors which can either generate negative consequences or subvert information flows. Due to the social relevance that self-censorship can have, this study aims to adapt and provide evidence of validity of the measures provided by the Spanish version of the Self-Censorship Orientation (SCO) scale. To do so, the scale was back-translated, and later its reliability, dimensionality and evidence of validity were evaluated in samples from three Spanish-speaking countries (N = 1,285): Spain, Colombia and Mexico. The results showed that the adaptation to Spanish fits the two-factor structure originally proposed and that the configural and metric invariance were adequate for all three samples, as well as the relations with other constructs like identity, patriotism, authoritarianism and conformism. Generally speaking, the SCO showed adequate psychometric properties for it to be used in different Spanish-speaking settings.