The Validity and Linguistic Testing of Translated Measures of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity for Research in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Populations in Thailand
Keywords:
gender identity, LGBT, measurement, sexual and gender minorities, sexual orientationAbstract
In the U.S., a large number of researchers have reported that LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) populations are a high-risk group for certain health problems. However, scant research on this topic exists in Thailand. The lack of a standardized measure is a key barrier to LGBT nursing research. The objectives of this study were to translate measures of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) using a standardized instrument developed in the U.S. by measurement translation processes used in cross-cultural research. Subsequently, the SOGI measures were evaluated for content validity by an expert Thai panel and tested for linguistic comprehension/acceptability from a diverse sample of Thai adults by online data collection using the Qualtrics program. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Experts concluded that the SOGI measures had high levels of content validity (I-CVI = 1, S-CVI/Ave = 1). Among 282 participants, the majority reported their biological sex as female (65.6%), gender identity as cis-gendered (90.1%), and sexual orientation as heterosexual (75.2%). Based on linguistic testing, most participants had high linguistic comprehension scores of SOGI questions and response options (M = 9.37 – 10.38, SD = 0.87 – 1.27 and 9.80 – 10.26, SD = 0.92 – 1.24, respectively), and high acceptability scores (98.62%). When comparing the different groups based on sexual/gender domains, homosexual and transgendered individuals stated slightly lower comprehension than other groups, while heterosexual individuals had the highest acceptability levels of SOGI measures.
Results signified that the Thai-version SOGI measures had high content validity and linguistic comprehension/acceptability scores, which can be applied in nursing research for screening sex and gender characteristics in a diverse range of Thai adults. This would allow for result comparisons to other countries.
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