Development and Validation of an Adult Greek-American Identity Scale

Abstract

The current investigation demonstrates the development of an identity instrument, specifically for the measurement of Greek-American ethnic identity: the Adult Greek-American Identity Scale (AGIS).  This scale construct validity was assessed with data collected from six Greek Orthodox parishes in northeastern Ohio.  As an expansion of earlier research, this study demonstrates that the Greek-American Identity Scale successfully captures the salient elements of this complex and multifaceted phenomenon under four constructs: Ethos, Network, Diaspora, and Attitude.  This study makes contributions to three areas of ethnic studies.  First, it contributes to the literature on Greek-Americans, a small and understudied ethnic group.  Second, this study provides an example of scale development which, although ethnic group specific, can be modified and applied to other ethnic groups.  Third, this study makes a contribution to the growing literature that uses structural equation modeling (SEM) in the study of ethnic identity.