Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Transgender Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs (T-KAB) Scale for the Mexican Population

• Published in: Archives of sexual behavior Vol. 51; no. 4; pp. 1959 - 1966
• Main Authors: Fresán, Ana, Domínguez-Martínez, Tecelli, Castilla-Peón, María Fernanda, Robles, Rebeca, Hernández, Omar, Vélez, Tania, Muñoz, Carolina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.05.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Attitudes; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Discrimination; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Male; Original Paper; Population; Psychology; Psychometrics; Public Health; Public opinion; Quantitative psychology; Reproducibility of Results; Sexual Behavior; Social Sciences; Surveys and Questionnaires; Transgender Persons; Transgender; Gender-nonconforming; Transgender Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs Scale (T-KAB); Stigma
• ISSN: 0004-0002; 1573-2800
• DOI: 10.1007/s10508-021-02259-3

Transphobia is a result of the widespread lack of knowledge among the general population, together with prejudice based on irrational fear and hatred, of those who do not fit the dominant, socially established gender categories. Little is known about transgender-related knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs among the Mexican population, due to the lack of reliable, valid Spanish-language instruments. This study presents a Spanish translation of the Transgender Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs (T-KAB) Scale and examines its psychometric properties for the Mexican population. A cohort of 501 adult subjects, 337 (67.3%) women and 161 (32.1%) men, drawn from the general population, answered the T-KAB in an anonymous online survey. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and internal consistency measure were used to determine whether its dimensions were reliable and valid for use in a Mexican Spanish language and cultural context. A CFA including the three original dimensions proposed and excluding one item from the T-KAB Scale showed appropriate goodness of fit indices ( χ 2 (180) = 389.41; χ 2 / df  = 2.16, RMSEA = 0.048, CI [0.042, 0.055]; CFI = 0.971; TLI = 0.966), with Cronbach’s alpha values over 0.85. The psychometric properties exhibited by the Spanish version of the T-KAB support its use for the assessment of knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding transgender people in the Mexican cultural context. This instrument offers researchers a brief, reliable, valid, and easy self-report measure to use in further studies in Spanish-speaking populations.