Factor-Analytic Structures in the English and Japanese Versions of the Objective Measure of Ego.Identity Status (OMEIS) HIFUMI OHNISHI Michigan State University FARAH A. IBRAHIM Howard University STEVEN V. OWEN University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston This research describes an exploratory factor analysis for the purposes of factorial validation for both the English and Japanese versions of the Objective Measure of Ego-Identity Status (OMEIS)--Ideological version (Adams, Bennion, & Huh, 1989). The Japanese OMEIS is a direct translation of the English OMEIS (Ohnishi, 1998). The study reports the factor structure of the OMEIS--Ideological version in English and Japanese. A principal factor analysis (PFA) with both oblique and orthogonal solutions was performed. Alpha reliabilities for the factors are presented. The present research compares and contrasts the factor structures of OMEIS--Ideological version, derived from a U.S. sample and a Japanese sample, comprising women from late adulthood to middle age. Cultural differences between the two sample populations are explored. Over the decades, a number of Western psychological instruments have been trans- lated into several languages for assessing individuals from different cultures. These instruments have included the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI; Hathaway & McKinley, 1983), Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979), and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES- D; Radloff, 1977) (e.g., Cheung, Song, & Zang, 1996; Kwan 1999; Rogler, 1999). However, there has been limited research on psychological instruments in cross-cul- tural studies. It is critical that translated instruments are culturally sensitive and valid for the cultural groups in question (Rogler, 1999). Accurate assessment of individual identity is important in understanding human behavior and psychology (Erickson, 1959, 1968; Marcia, 1993). Currently, Adams, Bennion, and Huh's (1989) Objective Measure of Ego-Identity Status (OMEIS) is the only quantitative instrument available to measure ego identity. This research describes an independent examination of psychometric properties of both the original English version and the translated Japanese version (Ohnishi, 1998) of the Objective Measure Current Psychology: Developmental 9 Learning 9 Personality 9 Social Spring 2001, Vol. 20, No. 3, 250-259.