The Crisis in Content Validity Among Existing Measures of Transphobia

Abstract

What might be suggested by Morrison et al.’s review of existing transphobia scales is that we should offer further methodological validation of the scales we already have. However, I would argue that, due to the particular crisis in content validity, this is not the answer. All the statistics in the world can’t redeem a scale that, at its most basic level, fails to reflect the construct it purports to measure. As such, what is needed is not the further statistical validation of existing measures, but the generation of entirely new measures developed on solid foundations of qualitative data assessing both the breadth and depth of current public attitudes (as I have done in the development and validation of the Attitudes Toward Transgender Men and Women scale [ATTMW]; Billard, 2018). And while Morrison et al.’s content validity criteria may provide methodological resources to lead us to greater content validity, these suggestions are not boxes to tick to say we have validity, nor even necessarily the best or only route to valid scale items. But one thing is certain: among all the issues Morrison et al. noted in their review, none is so grave as the crisis in content validity.

Keywords: Transphobia, Transgender, Attitudes, Prejudice, Psychometric Scales, Content Validity