Measurement invariance across gender and ethnicity on the Emotional Quotient Inventory 2.0

Abstract

This study investigated the measurement invariance of the Emotional Quotient Inventory 2.0 across gender and ethnic groups in South Africa. The sample consisted of 1 144 working adults (female = 49.8%. black = 36.2%, white = 29.8%; other = 34%; age range = 18 to 74 years). Multiple group factor analysis was conducted to test for configural, metric, and scalar invariance. Results suggest that the assessment is largely invariant at configural and metric levels across gender and ethnic groups. At scalar level, full invariance was achieved for ten of the fifteen scales across gender and one scale across ethnicity. Partial scalar models were explored for all other scales. Overall, the evidence seems to suggest that the scores from the Emotional Quotient Inventory 2.0 scales had similar meanings for different gender and ethnic groups. However, for a few scales across gender, and more so for ethnicity, it seems that participant responses might also be influenced by factors other than the underlying latent constructs. Thus, while the scales of the assessment appears to be largely invariant at the configural and metric levels, a more nuanced picture emerged at scalar level with partially invariant models, especially across ethnic groups.