Validity Evidence of the Critical Consciousness Scale short version
Keywords:
Psychometrics, Social Class, Social inequality, Social justiceAbstract
This study aimed to develop a shortened version of the Critical Consciousness Scale, making the assessment of psychosocial studies’ constructs faster and more efficient. Critical consciousness is an individual or collective ability to critically review the social structures’ organization and their oppression perpetuation as well as their maintenance of power; they were viewed based on the thoughts of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire. In the field of psychological measurement and research, critical consciousness can be understood as a gradual process that begins with reflection and culminates in transformative action, which can be assessed using the Critical Consciousness Scale. The study sample consisted of three waves of a survey data collection covering 1,322 Brazilian adult respondents. Experts’ review procedures, followed by factorial and invariance analysis strategies, resulted in a 12-item reduced version of the measure, covering the dimensions of Critical Reflection (α = 0.93), Critical Responsibility (α = 0.73), and Critical Action (α = 0.84). Evidence of external validity showed correlations with aspects of social class, marginalization, economic constraints, and decent work. In our study we discussed the perspectives regarding the instrument’s use in the different fields of pure and applied social sciences.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Alexsandro Luiz De Andrade, Juliana Pereira Rodrigues Nunes, Mariana Ramos de Melo, Pâmela Fardin Pedruzzi
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