Chronic and Contextual Identity Salience: Assessing Dual-Dimensional Salience with the Identity Salience Questionnaire (ISQ)

Identity Salience is a core aspect in theories of social identification. Yet, this construct is poorly defined, has conflicting operationalisations, and is inconsistently measured. We argue that identity salience comprises two elements: chronic salience (i.e., perpetually thinking about the identity) and contextual salience (i.e., only thinking about the identity when prompted). Across four studies, we present evidence for this claim through the development and validation of the dual-dimensional Identity Salience Questionnaire (ISQ). Studies 1 and 2 (Ns = 414; 1,069) provide exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic evidence of the ISQ among LGBTIQA+ participants. Study 2 also provides evidence of (a) measurement invariance, (b) concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validity, and (c) internal reliability. Study 3 (N = 318) indicates strong test-retest reliability. Study 4 (N = 107 social psychologists) confirms content validity of the ISQ. Future research for the use of the ISQ (both within and beyond LGBTIQA+ groups) is discussed.