Measurement invariance by race (black, white) of the femininity ideology scale-short form

The Femininity Ideology Scale - Short Form (FIS-SF) assesses traditional femininity ideology (TFI), which is the internalization of White, Western, heteronormative norms about how women are supposed to think, feel, and behave. As TFI applies to both in-group and out-group members, it is important to examine the FIS-SF's psychometric properties in different populations who might have unique gender ideologies that compete with TFI, such as the Strong Black Woman ideology (SBWI). This study investigated the measurement invariance of the FIS-SF in a sample of Black (N = 185) and White (N = 944) respondents, who were college students and community-dwellers recruited using internet advertisements. Ages ranged from 18 to 90 years (Mean = 27.10, SD = 11.59). Results indicated that the FIS-SF had a statistically equivalent pattern of items loading on factors, item factor loadings and model fit for White and Black participants. Four of the twelve intercepts of the items regressed on their respective factors were invariant between groups, with Black participants having higher intercepts for all non-invariant items, but their effect size was small. Future research is needed to investigate relationships between SBWI and TFI as well as FIS-SF measurement invariance in other populations.