Factor Structure and Invariance of the Orthogonal Cultural Identification Scale among American Indian and Mexican American Youth

Abstract

Some theories and measures of cultural identification are based on a unidimensional continuum, requiring that, as identification with one culture increases, identification with another decreases. Others, such as multicultural theories, allow high identification with different cultures but rarely incorporate low identification. Orthogonal cultural identification theory specifies that identification with one culture can be independent of identification with another Short scales have been developed to assess orthogonal cultural identification, applicable across a variety of cultures. Comparisons of measurement models indicated that, for both Mexican American and American Indian adolescents, measures of minority and White American cultural identification are, as predicted, independent and that cultural identification is strongly rooted in the family. Although minor ethnicity differences occurred in a few higher order paths, multigroup tests indicated essential invariance of factor loadings and higher order structure across gender, grade level, and ethnic minority group.