The Internal-External Ethnic Identity Measure: Factor-Analytic Structures Based on a Sample of Chinese Americans

Abstract

The factor-analytic structure of the Internal-External Ethnic Identity (Int-Ext Id) measure was examined using a sample of Chinese Americans. Items in the Int-Ext Id measure reflect the common internal and external aspects of ethnic identity as conceptualized from the social psychological perspective, as well as the Asian values of family orientation and collectivism. Four factors—Ethnic Friendship and Affiliation, Ethno-Communal Expression, Ethnic Food Orientation, and Family-Collectivism—were identified.

Assessing the Psychometric Properties of the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form in Mainland China

“…Finally, for cross-cultural counseling researchers, more attention and efforts are needed to engage in active examination of cross-cultural sensitivity and equivalence of assessment tools before directly applying U.S.-based theories, models or instruments on populations from other cultures (Aegisdóttir et al 2008;Lonner 1985;Kwan and Gerstein 2008).…”

“…Although these findings indicate cultural variation in help-seeking attitudes, a significant limitation is the failure to examine cross-cultural validity and factorial invariance across racial/cultural groups (Aegisdóttir et al 2008;Kwan and Gerstein 2008).…”

“…Mainland China was chosen as the region of interest because the Chinese language (Mandarin Chinese) is the most widely used language in the world and the help-seeking attitudes of Chinese individuals (e.g., Chinese Americans, Chinese international students) have been frequently investigated in the U.S. We believe that it is critical to evaluate measurement and construct equivalence before testing U.S.-based theories, models, or instruments on populations from other cultures (Aegisdóttir et al 2008;Lonner 1985;Kwan and Gerstein 2008).…”

Repairing Tom Swift's Electric Factor Analysis Machine

“…However, these cautions seem to have had rather little impact on methodological choices made in many applications of EFA. Articles published in recent years in respected journals (e.g., Beidel, Turner, & Morris, 1995;Bell-Dolan & Allan, 1998;Brown, Schulberg, & Madonia, 1995;Collinsworth, Strom, & Strom, 1996;Copeland, Brandon, & Quinn, 1995;Dunn, Ryan, & Paolo, 1994;Dyce, 1996;Enns & Reddon, 1998;Flowers & Algozzine, 2000;Gass, Demsky, & Martin, 1998;Kier & Buras, 1999;Kwan, 2000;Lawrence et al, 1998;Osman, Barrios, Aukes, & Osman, 1995;Shiarella, McCarthy, & Tucker, 2000;Yanico & Lu, 2000) continue to follow the Little Jiffy approach in whole or in part, undoubtedly yielding some potentially misleading factor analytic results. Repeated use of less than optimal methods reinforces such use in the future.…”

Collectivistic Conflict of Chinese in Counseling

“…In light of societal racism associated with racial salient and minority status (Kwan, 2005), it is not surprising that the cultural (acculturative) conflict perspective is often used when studying the psychological adaptation of Chinese in non-Chinese societies. In the United States, three independent teams of counseling psychologists (Inman, Ladany, Constantine, & Morano, 2001;Kwan, 2000b;Lee, Choe, Kim, & Ngo, 2001) have developed research instruments to assess the cultural adjustment experiences of various asian american subgroups, including Chinese in the United States. Inherent in the three instruments' conceptualization is the assumption that the psychological adaptation of the respective asian american groups evolved around confronting and resolving the conflicts between collectivistic expectations (e.g., filial piety, submissive role for women) associated with their asian ethnicity (e.g., Chinese immigrants, South-asian americans) and the predominant individualism embedded in the larger U.S. society (e.g., asserting own decision and attitudes).…”