VALIDATION AND ADAPTATION OF PERCEIVED SOCIETAL MARGINALIZATION SCALE AMONG THE SAMPLE OF IGBO NATION INHABITING SOUTH EAST, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study aimed to validate a measure of perceived societal marginalization (PSM, - Bollerk, Schlipphak & Back, 2021) that can be commensurate in measuring perceived marginalization in Nigeria, in three domains of economy, culture and politics. The development of the instrument targeted, particularly the Igbos (the tribe that predominately inhabits the Southeast part of Nigeria). Using a simple convenient sampling method, 164 participants validly responded to the online questionnaire, and these data were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), where principal component analysis was conducted to verify the factor structure. SPSS software version 23 was used to analyze the data. Result confirmed the PSM three factors (perceived economic, cultural, and political, factor), but with great changes. For cultural factor, only one item (item 8 in the questionnaire) survived, other items of this dimension had double-loading with factor 1 (economic factor), Because of this, we decided to expunged the cultural dimension. Thus, the final version of the perceived societal marginalization Questionnaire included a 10-items with two subscales (perceived economic marginalization and perceived political marginalization), that explained a cumulative variance of 68.32. Further evaluation of the psychometric properties provided support for the reliability and validity of the measure. Thus, PSM scale can serve as an effective measurement tool for assessing the extent of marginalization as perceived by individuals, particularly the Igbo extraction in Nigeria.