Psychometric testing of the SAFE (Socially Ascribed intersectional identities For Equity) questionnaire

The Socially Ascribed intersectional identity For Equity (SAFE) questionnaire, grounded in intersectionality and social positioning, was developed to capture the complex intersectional experiences of individuals in various interpersonal and social settings. While the questionnaire has established content and face validity through the Delphi process in previous work, further psychometric testing is required before its use in future research. Test-retest reliability was evaluated using one-week interval surveys involving 159 students ( M age: 20.2 years) and internal consistency was assessed among 1,245 students ( M age: 19.2 years) across three Canadian post-secondary institutions. Test-retest reliability demonstrated moderate to almost perfect stability across domains (k = 0.51–0.98; ICC = 0.50–0.89). The internal consistency within the outwardly visible or socially perceived items indicated that the SAFE questionnaire was robust (Cronbach’s \(\:\alpha\:\)=0.62–0.97), particularly in measuring gender identity and sexual orientation constructs; however, for cultural contexts, disability and SES domains, further refinement or expansion to better capture the complexity of social positioning may be considered. The self-reported items of the SAFE questionnaire demonstrated strong concurrent validity with the CCWS, with correlations remaining robust despite differences in response formats (τb= .505–.986). Correlations were statistically significant but lower for perceived aspects of social position, particularly for sexual orientation (\(\:\tau\:\)b= .399), disability (\(\:\tau\:\)b= .125), and SES (\(\:\tau\:\)b = − .085). The findings provide strong support for the SAFE questionnaire as a reliable and valid tool for capturing multidimensional social identities. Testing across diverse populations will further strengthen its utility and applicability.