A measure of racial identity in African American adolescents: The development of the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity--Teen.

Abstract

The Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity-teen (MIBI-t) is designed to assess the three crosssituationally stable dimensions (Centrality, Regard, and Ideology) of the Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI; Sellers, Smith, Shelton, Rowley, & Chavous, 1998) within teenagers. Adolescent responses (N = 489) to the MIBI-t were subjected to several analyses to evaluate the psychometric character of the measure. Findings indicated that the MIBI-t represents a valid framework for African American adolescents, that its internal structure is consistent with the conceptual framework of the MMRI, and support its construct validity. Findings also indicate model invariance across grade level and gender, as well as suggest evidence of predictive validity. Further information about the MIBI-t and the full set of items are presented. KeywordsRacial Identity; Ethnic Identity; Measurement Identity Development African American; Black; SelfConcept An increasing body of psychological literature has focused on how African Americans define what their racial group membership means to them (Burlew, Bellow, & Lovett, 2000;Cross, 1971Cross, , 1991Cross, Parham, & Helms, 1998;Helms, 1990;Milliones, 1976Milliones, , 1980Sellers, Smith, Shelton, Rowley, & Chavous, 1998). Several models and measures of racial identity within African Americans have been proposed (e. g., Cross, 1971Cross, , 1991Parham & Helms, 1981;. However, their general focus has been on two periods of the life course, childhood and emerging adulthood, overlooking, for the most part, the developmental periods of early and middle adolescence (Phinney, 1990). Consequently, theoretical conceptualizations of African American racial identity during early and middle adolescence as well as empirical tools for assessing African American racial identity during these developmental periods are rare. To address this oversight, the current study presents a new measure of racial identity specifically for African American adolescents: The Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity-teen (MIBI-t). This measure consists of 7 subscales representing the three cross-situationally stable dimensions (Centrality, Regard, and Correspondence should be addressed to Krista Scottham, Department of Psychology, Pettingill Hall, Bates College, Lewiston, ME, 04240. Please send all correspondence to the first author via phone at (207) 786-6088, or kscottha@bates.edu. NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptIdeology) of the Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI; . Information supporting the reliability and validity of this new measure is presented. The Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI)The MMRI is grounded in identity theory (Stryker, 1987), which argues that each individual has a number of hierarchically ordered identities (e. g., racial, gendered, and vocational), and that within this hierarchy one identity can be more important to an individual than another. Building on this, the MMRI asserts that the d...

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