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The Cognitive Empowerment Scale: Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis Among Youth of Color

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Abstract

Empowerment is a higher order multilevel framework used to evaluate individuals, groups, organizations, and communities as they engage in the practice and execution of the participatory process. The cognitive component of psychological empowerment (PE) has been examined through the Cognitive Empowerment Scale (CES); however, this scale has yet to be specifically tested to assess differences between African American/Black and Hispanic/Latinx urban youth. This study tested the factor structure of the CES using Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) through AMOS Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) Software among a sample of African American/Black and Hispanic/Latinx urban youth (N =383). Analyses also assessed the association intrapersonal PE and psychological sense of community (SOC) had with CE. Results support the multidimensionality of the CES as a measure of cognitive PE, with no significant differences noted between groups. Findings also contribute to the field of social work and encourage the promotion of youth-work that enables these young people to foster a critical read of their social world in order to build a path toward engaging in social change.

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Funding

Funding was provided by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), Grant No. SP-15104.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Individual, Family, and Community Education, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA

    David T. Lardier Jr.

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA

    David T. Lardier Jr.

  3. School of Social Welfare, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA

    Ijeoma Opara

  4. Department of Family Science and Human Development, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, USA

    Pauline Garcia-Reid & Robert J. Reid

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  1. David T. Lardier Jr.
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Correspondence to David T. Lardier Jr..

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors. Ijeoma Opara (or second co-author) received funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (5T32 DA007233) training grant as a predoctoral fellow. Points of view, opinions, and conclusions in this paper do not necessarily represent the official position of the U.S. Government.

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Lardier, D.T., Opara, I., Garcia-Reid, P. et al. The Cognitive Empowerment Scale: Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis Among Youth of Color. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 37, 179–193 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-019-00647-2

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