CROSS-CULTURAL ADAPTATION AND EVIDENCE OF THE VALIDITY OF THE COMPETENCE AND SOCIABILITY SCALE OF THE STEREOTYPICAL CONTENT MODEL FOR USE IN BRAZIL

Abstract

The Stereotype Content Model hypothesizes that there are two fundamental dimensions (Competence and Warmth) for understanding stereotypes. The purpose of the study was to realize the cross-cultural adaptation of this scale and identify its psychometric properties for the Brazilian population in an exploratory level. METHODS: All cross-cultural adaptation procedures followed the recommendations by Borsa et al. (2012). The final version of the cross-culturally adapted scale was administered to a sample of 354 adult subjects from the general population of residents in Brazil, most of whom were female (74%; N = 262) and the average age of the sample was 43.25 years (SD = 14,04). To identify the psychometric properties, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed in the FACTOR software. The EFA was implemented using the Robust Diagonally Weighted Least Squares (RDWLS) estimation technique. The decision on the number of factors to be retained was taken using the Optimal Implementation of Parallel Analysis technique. The rotation used was Robust Promin in all analyzes with more than one factor. To analyze the internal consistency of each dimension, the Composite Reliability coefficient was used. RESULTS: After the cross-cultural adaptation, the committee of judges considered that the Portuguese version of the scale presented semantic, idiomatic, cultural and conceptual equivalence. The EFA confirmed the 2 dimensional structure, as originally proposed, explaining 25.5% of the total variance. The internal consistency indexes were satisfactory: Composite Reliability showed a coefficient of 0.919 for Factor 1 (Competence) and 0.890 for Factor 2 (Sociability), while Cronbach's α showed a coefficient of 0,87. The adjustment indices for the exploratory analysis of the instrument were adequate (χ² = 229,939, gl = 43; p < 0,001; CFI = 0,967; TLI = 0,950) with the exception of RMSEA = 0.111, which was considered poor (above 0.100). CONCLUSIONS: The cross-cultural adaptation and the exploratory psychometric qualities of the Competence and Warmth scales of the Stereotype Content Model were satisfactory.