A Psychometric Evaluation of the Saudi Version of the Multidimensional Aversion to Women Who Work Scale (MAWWWS)

Abstract: Gender roles and attitudes are often based on negative stereotypes and prejudice. The multidimensional aversion to women who work scale (MAWWWS; Valentine, 2001 ) was developed to assess both women’s employment skepticism and traditional role preferences. The present study uses both classical testing theory (CTT) and item response theory (IRT) to examine the psychometric properties of the Saudi version of the MAWWWS, which was first standardized for the US population. For the current study, the 10-item scale was first translated into Arabic using the back-translation method. An online version of the translated MAWWWS was administered to 826 Saudi participants. Both the reliability and validity of the scale were examined, and the two-dimensional structure of the scale was confirmed. The robustness of the results was confirmed using a network psychometrics approach. The Saudi version of the scale appears to be psychometrically robust and might be used in research assessing attitudes toward women who work among a Saudi adult population.