Does the Spiritual Values/Religion Subscale of the Self-Description Questionnaire III Function Differentially Across Heterosexual and Non-Heterosexual Young Adults? A Measurement Invariance Study

Authors

Thai Q. Ong, James Madison UniversityFollow
Deborah L. Bandalos, James Madison University
Susan M. Swearer, University of Nebraska–LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

2020

Citation

Published in Journal of Homosexuality 67:10 (2020), pp 1367–1385.

DOI: 10.1080/00918369.2019.1591785

Comments

Copyright © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Used by Permission

Abstract

We evaluated the dimensionality and measurement invariance of the Spiritual Values/Religion (SVR) subscale from the Self-Description Questionnaire III across heterosexual and non-heterosexual young adults. We found a one-factor model provided adequate fit to the data for each group, with the SVR items exhibiting configural, metric, and scalar invariance across the two groups. Given that we established measurement invariance, we examined the latent mean difference on the construct and found the heterosexual group reported significantly higher levels of spiritual value/ religion than the non-heterosexual group. Our results provided empirical support for the theorized factor structure of the SVR items and the use of the SVR subscale across heterosexual and non-heterosexual young adults, making the scale a viable option for researchers studying religiosity in these specific subpopulations.