Adaptation and validation of the Perceived Economic Inequality in Everyday Life (PEIEL) scale in Chilean adults

Abstract

The Perceived Economic Inequality in Everyday Life (PEIEL) scale was developed in Spain within the context of political and social psychology research. This study introduces an abbreviated version of the scale for potential application in health research among the Chilean population. This study examined the psychometric properties of the proposed adaptation and assessed its metric invariance across lower and higher income groups in a sample of Chilean adults aged 50 and older (n = 372 respondents; 64.1% women; mean age ± SD = 58.8 ± 5.2). Four experts reviewed the original scale items to create a shortened version, selecting those that effectively capture economic inequality in the Chilean context. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to validate the proposed factorial structure and assess invariance. The results support the proposed factorial structure and establish scalar invariance, which indicates the instrument’s consistent measurement properties across income levels.