Perceived experiences of atheist discrimination: Instrument development and evaluation.

Publisher: American Psychological Association Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 2985124R Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 0022-0167 (Print) Linking ISSN: 00220167 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Couns Psychol Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: Washington Dc : American Psychological Association
Original Publication: Columbus, Ohio.

Religion* ; Religion and Psychology* ; Secularism* ; Surveys and Questionnaires*; Prejudice/*psychology ; Psychometrics/*methods; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Female ; Humans ; Loneliness ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Perception ; Reproducibility of Results ; Social Stigma ; Stress, Psychological/complications ; Stress, Psychological/psychology ; Young Adult

The present 2 studies describe the development and initial psychometric evaluation of a new instrument, the Measure of Atheist Discrimination Experiences (MADE), which may be used to examine the minority stress experiences of atheist people. Items were created from prior literature, revised by a panel of expert researchers, and assessed psychometrically. In Study 1 (N = 1,341 atheist-identified people), an exploratory factor analysis with 665 participants suggested the presence of 5 related dimensions of perceived discrimination. However, bifactor modeling via confirmatory factor analysis and model-based reliability estimates with data from the remaining 676 participants affirmed the presence of a strong "general" factor of discrimination and mixed to poor support for substantive subdimensions. In Study 2 (N = 1,057 atheist-identified people), another confirmatory factor analysis and model-based reliability estimates strongly supported the bifactor model from Study 1 (i.e., 1 strong "general" discrimination factor) and poor support for subdimensions. Across both studies, the MADE general factor score demonstrated evidence of good reliability (i.e., Cronbach's alphas of .94 and .95; omega hierarchical coefficients of .90 and .92), convergent validity (i.e., with stigma consciousness, β = .56; with awareness of public devaluation, β = .37), and preliminary evidence for concurrent validity (i.e., with loneliness β = .18; with psychological distress β = .27). Reliability and validity evidence for the MADE subscale scores was not sufficient to warrant future use of the subscales. Limitations and implications for future research and clinical work with atheist individuals are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Date Created: 20160415 Date Completed: 20170126 Latest Revision: 20191210

20221213

10.1037/cou0000156

27078194