Stability and Comparability of Meritocratic Beliefs in School-Age Students: A Measurement Invariance Approach across Time and Cohorts

Presentation
Author

Laffert, Andreas; Castillo, Juan Carlos; Canales, Rene; Urzua, Tomas & Carrasco, Kevin

Published

March 1, 2026

Abstract
Meritocratic beliefs shape how adolescents understand inequality and the legitimacy of social arrangements. Schoolsare key sites of meritocratic socialization, making adolescence a crucial period for studying how these beliefs are formed.However, research on adolescents’ meritocratic beliefs has often relied on unidimensional measures that conflate perceptionsof how allocation works with preferences about how it should work and treat meritocratic and non-meritocratic principles asopposites. This study tests a multidimensional model that distinguishes between perceived and preferred meritocracy and non-meritocracy. Using two-wave panel survey data from Chilean students in 8th and 10th grade (Wave 1: N = 846; Wave 2: N= 662), we assess whether these dimensions can be distinguished, compared across school stages, and measured equivalentlyover time. Results support a four-factor structure and show that endorsement of merit can coexist with recognition of non-meritocratic advantage. The scale achieves strict longitudinal invariance within students but not across school levels.
NoteHow to cite this work

Laffert, Andreas; Castillo, Juan Carlos; Canales, Rene; Urzua, Tomas & Carrasco, Kevin (2026). Stability and Comparability of Meritocratic Beliefs in School-Age Students: A Measurement Invariance Approach across Time and Cohorts. : SocArXiv https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/gvbqw_v1