Construction and validation of the Intragroup Marginalization Inventory.

This study reports the development and validation of the Intragroup Marginalization Inventory (IMI). The IMI consists of three scales that assess the extent to which an individual perceives interpersonal distancing from family, friends, and ethnic group community members. Intragroup marginalization is defined as the interpersonal distancing that occurs when an acculturating individual is believed to exhibit behaviors, values, and beliefs that are outside the heritage culture's group norms. Intragroup marginalization is based on social identity theory that asserts that groups maintain their identity by the distinctive behaviors of its members. When an acculturating individual displays behaviors or attitudes that differ from the heritage culture group's norms, the group may respond to the threat with social alienation of the transgressor. The results support the IMI's validity via a) content validity in the development of the items, b) construct validity in the selection of the factors based upon an exploratory factor analysis, c) the replicability of the factors based upon a confirmatory factor analysis, and d) discriminant validity through examining the relationship of the factors with other established measures. Copyright 2007 APA