Psychometric reevaluation of the Sexual Machismo Scale in young women from the Peruvian Amazon

Sexual machismo refers to beliefs that legitimize male privilege in the sexual domain, male sexual permissiveness, sexual double standards, and female subordination. Although the Sexual Machismo Scale (EMS-Sexismo-12) has been used in Latin American contexts, evidence regarding its factorial structure has been inconsistent. This study aimed to reevaluate its psychometric properties in young women from the Peruvian Amazon. This instrumental, cross-sectional, non-experimental study included 608 young women from the Peruvian Amazon, aged 18 to 30 years. The sample was randomly divided into two independent subsamples: one for exploratory factor analysis (EFA; n = 300) and another for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; n = 308). Item performance, internal structure through EFA and CFA with WLSMV estimation, internal consistency using Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega, and validity evidence based on relationships with emotion regulation strategies were examined. The original 12-item unidimensional model showed insufficient fit. After comparing alternative models, a seven-item unidimensional version, named EMS-Sexismo-7 and composed of MS1, MS3, MS5, MS6, MS7, MS8, and MS9, was retained. The final model showed acceptable overall fit, χ²/df = 2.59, CFI = 0.983, TLI = 0.975, RMSEA = 0.072, SRMR = 0.057, and adequate internal consistency, α = 0.825 and ω = 0.832. The EMS-Sexismo-7 showed favorable initial evidence of internal structure and reliability in young women from the Peruvian Amazon. Future research should examine its factorial invariance, construct sensitivity, and validity evidence based on relationships with other variables in broader and more diverse samples, including men.