What makes you "Ew"? Cross-national differences in disgust sensitivity
Disgust, as an emotional reaction to aversive stimuli, is thought to be universal; however, specific triggers of disgust may differ across cultures. Even though this has been acknowledged in previous studies, very little research has focused on measurement issues in cross-cultural assessment of disgust. The present study aimed to evaluate measurement equivalence of the three-domain disgust scale in a sample of US Americans and Indians. Specifically, confirmatory factor analysis, for the overall sample, as well as a subsample of Indians and Americans are reported. Next, a multi-group CFA and measurement invariance are tested, along with the size of non-equivalence. Scalar invariance was not found, implying that means cannot be compared across the two countries. However, the scale showed adequate fit in the Indian context, suggesting that it can be used to assess trait disgust sensitivity in India. Finally, item-level differences are noted, and explained via differences in cultural and legal norms.