A Malinchismo Scale for Use among Adolescents

Abstract

Malinchismo is a recently documented concept referring to preferencing the culture, ideas, tastes and behaviors of another nation/culture over one’s own. First, we introduce this new concept in relation to post-colonial theory, social identity theory, and remote acculturation theory, explaining its relevance to adolescent development. We then introduce and validate a new Malinchismo scale using a derivative sequential method among two samples of adolescents in Mexico (n = 560 total). Our Malinchismo Scale is more comprehensive than existing alternatives and is the first to be validated for use among adolescents. We assessed 1) content validity using the responses of content experts who served as judges, 2) construct validity using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA, respectively), and 3) convergent and discriminant validity using participant responses to the Ingroup Interethnic Bias Test. In total, 366 adolescents were in the EFA sample (M=16.18 years, SD=0.74, 62% female) and 194 adolescents were in the CFA sample (M=16.17, SD=1.06, 57% female). Results revealed excellent psychometric properties on all indices, supporting the Malinchismo Scale as a valid and reliable measure for adolescents.