This study examines opinion instability among individuals from different ethnic groups (White, Latino, and Asian Americans) by analyzing measurement errors in survey measures. Using a multi-wave panel dataset of college students and employing generalizability theory, the study uncovers significant patterns. The results reveal that White students exhibit higher attitude reliability, characterized by larger variances in true opinions and smaller measurement errors. In contrast, Latino and Asian American students display lower attitude stability, with lower variances in true opinions and higher variances in both item-specific and measurement errors. Disparities in political socialization and issue concerns contribute to the observed attitude instability among Latino and Asian American students. Moreover, Asian American and Latino respondents require a greater number of survey items to mitigate measurement error compared to their White counterparts. However, the impact of multiple waves of surveys on improving reliability is limited for Latino and Asian American students compared to White students. These findings deepen our understanding of attitude instability across ethnic groups and underscore the importance of further research in this area.

翻译：本研究通过分析调查测量中的误差，考察了不同族裔群体（白人、拉丁裔及亚裔美国人）个体的观点不稳定性。基于多轮面板数据集，运用概化理论，研究揭示了重要规律：白人学生的态度可靠性更高，表现为其真实观点方差较大而测量误差方差较小；相比之下，拉丁裔与亚裔美国学生的态度稳定性较低，其真实观点方差更小，而项目特异性与测量误差方差均更大。政治社会化程度及议题关切的差异是导致拉丁裔与亚裔美国学生出现态度不稳定的原因。此外，与白人学生相比，亚裔与拉丁裔受访者需要更多调查项目来减少测量误差。但多轮调查对提升拉丁裔与亚裔美国学生态度可靠性的作用有限，改善效果不及白人学生。这些发现深化了对不同族裔群体态度不稳定性成因的理解，并凸显了该领域进一步研究的重要性。