Assessing measurement invariance of paranoia scales across racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.

Paranoid ideation relates to a mistrust or suspicion of other people and their motives and may be especially influenced by environmental and psychosocial factors. Historically marginalized populations consistently endorse higher levels of paranoid ideation than Non-Hispanic White individuals, but it is unclear whether these differences can be attributed to measurement bias or if they represent genuine between-group differences in the latent construct. The current study aimed to examine the measurement invariance of five common paranoia measures. Participants included Non-Hispanic White (n = 308), Black American (n = 299), and Hispanic (n = 281) groups recruited from the general population. Scales included the Revised-Green Paranoid Thoughts Scale (R-GPTS), Paranoia Scale (PS), Persecution and Deservedness Scale (PaDS), Paranoia/Suspiciousness Questionnaire (PSQ), and the Personality Inventory for the DSM-5 (PID-5) Suspiciousness facet scale. Measurement invariance analyses indicated the R-GPTS, PS, PaDS, PID-5 Suspiciousness facet, and PSQ Negative Mood/Withdrawal and Perceived Hardship/Resentment subscales showed configural, metric, and scalar invariance, while the Interpersonal Suspiciousness/Hostility and Mistrust/Wariness subscales lacked scalar invariance. Black American participants had higher mean scores on all invariant measures, followed by Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White participants. For the scales that displayed scalar invariance, these results are unlikely to be attributable to measurement bias, and instead likely reflect cultural and potentially adaptive responses to the complex relationships between cultural, social, and economic factors. To better understand how demographic variables and social determinants of health may influence paranoid ideation in diverse populations, future research should incorporate these variables into measurement invariance and group difference analyses.