Measurement Invariance of the Ableist Microaggression Scale Among Adults With Psychiatric Disabilities

Abstract

Stigma at structural, interpersonal, and intrapersonal levels is associated with poor mental health among adults with disabilities (AWD), with experiences varying by disability type. Adults with psychiatric disabilities encounter distinct disability discrimination that may differ from other disability groups. This study examined the measurement invariance of the Ableist Microaggression Scale (AMS), originally developed for adults with physical disabilities, among adults with psychiatric and nonpsychiatric disabilities. The AMS assesses lifetime experiences of disability microaggressions across four factors: Helplessness, Minimization, Denial of Personhood, and Otherization. Data from 470 AWD recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) were analyzed. Configural, metric, scalar, and strict invariance of a first-order factor model were supported, indicating the AMS does not function differently across disability groups. Findings extend the validity of the AMS to psychiatric populations and support its use for measuring microaggressions across diverse disability experiences.

Keywords

disability discrimination disability psychiatric disability disability microaggressions stigma Ableist Microaggression Scale

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