Development and Validation of the Perceived Linguistic Microaggression Scale

Lin Zhu and Xue Weng

SAGE Open, 2025, vol. 15, issue 3, 21582440251361608

Abstract: Linguistic microaggressions, subtle and often unintentional verbal slights rooted in language bias, remain understudied in multilingual contexts because existing measures capture only overt and generalized forms of language-based discrimination. This study developed and validated the Perceived Linguistic Microaggression Scale (PLMS), a context-sensitive measure capturing subtle, interactional exclusions related to language use. In Stage 1, in-depth semistructured interviews with Mandarin and regional dialect speakers in China generated an initial pool of 15 items grounded in three categories: microassaults (e.g., accent mockery), microinsults (e.g., competence judgments), and microinvalidations (e.g., exclusion from conversations). A panel of experts then refined this pool for redundancy and clarity, resulting in a 10-item instrument. Stage 2 employed exploratory factor analysis ( N  = 264), revealing a unidimensional structure, indicating that these diverse expressions of linguistic bias cohere as a single underlying construct. Stage 3 used confirmatory factor analysis ( N  = 267) that supported this single-factor model (CFI = 0.968; TLI = 0.960; RMSEA = 0.07; SRMR = 0.03). The PLMS demonstrated strong internal consistency (α = .78) and measurement invariance across gender, region, and dialect groups. Construct validity was established through significant correlations with psychological outcomes: higher PLMS scores were associated with elevated depression ( r  = .46, p  

Keywords: linguistic microaggression; linguistic equity; multilingualism; psychometric validation; reliability and validity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:sagope:v:15:y:2025:i:3:p:21582440251361608

DOI: 10.1177/21582440251361608

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