title: Discrimination and Romani health: a validation study of discrimination scales among Romani women in Macedonia and Serbia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Scales used to assess discrimination in public health research have rarely been validated outside of high income countries. Our objective was to validate the Experiences of Discrimination (EOD) scale and the Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS) among 410 Romani women in Macedonia and Serbia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Romani female interviewers conducted interviews in 2012-2013. We used a multiple indicator multiple cause approach to test a one-factor model for each scale and to assess differential item functioning (DIF) by age, wealth, country, and education. We also measured associations between the EOD and EDS with smoking in the past year and psychological distress.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three items of the EOD were conceptually irrelevant. Two items of the EDS were not conditionally independent. DIF was found by country for one item in each scale. After excluding these items, all scales exhibited good model fit and were associated with smoking (EOD beta = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.18, 0.63; EDS beta = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.12, 0.54) and psychological distress (EOD beta = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.15, 0.37; EDS beta = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.04, 0.47).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Discrimination scales can be adapted for use among Romani women and are associated with both smoking and psychological distress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health, 683 Hoes Lane West, Room 209, PO Box 9, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA, Teresa.Janevic@Rutgers.edu.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Janevic
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gundersen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stojanovski
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jankovic
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Nikolic
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kasapinov
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods*; D063505:Racism; D018843:Republic of North Macedonia; D006178:Romani People; D055771:Serbia; D012907:Smoking; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D055815:Young Adult