Factorial invariance of the Marianismo Beliefs Scale among Latinos in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study

Objective: The Marianismo Beliefs Scale (MBS) assesses five components of marianismo, a cultural script of Latina gender role expectations. This study evaluated the MBS's psychometric properties across language, sex, and Latino subgroups (Mexican American, Central American, Cuban American, Dominican American, Puerto Rican, and South American). Method: Study sample was derived from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) Sociocultural Ancillary Study which consisted of a community sample of 4879 Latino adults aged 18–64 from four field centers (Miami, FL, USA; San Diego, CA, USA; Bronx, NY, USA; Chicago, IL, USA). Results: Confirmatory factor analyses supported five factors. English and Spanish versions demonstrated equivalence of factor loadings and error variances across Latino subgroups and sex. Conclusion: Although the MBS English and Spanish versions are psychometrically sound measures for male and female Latino adults, future research is needed to determine whether direct scale scores are comparable.