Supplemental Material for Examining the Psychometric Validity of the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure-Revised (MEIM-R) in a Community Sample of African American and European American Adults

Education ◽  
2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank C. Worrell

Racial identity is one of the most frequently studied cultural identities in the United States, and it is examined most frequently in relation to African Americans. Racial identity is also examined in European American samples to a lesser extent, and there is a growing literature on the racial identity of biracial and multiracial individuals. Racial identity and ethnic identity are similar constructs, and there are some researchers who do not distinguish between the constructs, using the terms and the measurement instruments interchangeably. However, as the instruments are developed in relation to theoretical models that speak to one or the other construct specifically (i.e., ethnic or racial identity), this perspective is not adopted in this article. Thus this article focuses solely on racial identity as a construct and does not include literature on ethnic identity or studies that used instruments developed to measure ethnic identity. The relationship between racial identity and learning, and more specifically academic achievement, is typically studied in the context of the achievement gap among racial and ethnic groups in the United States, and is most closely associated with the achievement gap between African American and European American students. Thus, studies of the relationship of racial identity to learning typically involve black racial identity but not white racial identity. In most of the scholarship in this area, researchers examine the relationship of black racial identity attitudes to academic achievement or other academic constructs (e.g., motivation). Additionally, two of the preeminent theories of underachievement in African Americans and other underachieving groups—that is, cultural ecological theory and stereotype threat—implicate racial identity as a contributing factor. Although there is a strong belief that racial identity is related to learning, there is still considerable debate about the contexts in which this relationship is manifested and the strength and explanatory power of the relationship, and the evidence in favor of a direct relationship between the racial identity and learning is mixed at best.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009579842110342
Author(s):  
Lydia HaRim Ahn ◽  
Angel S. Dunbar ◽  
Erica E. Coates ◽  
Mia A. Smith-Bynum

The present study tested a path analytic model that addressed two questions regarding the connection between one aspect of racial socialization (cultural pride reinforcement), communication between mothers and their adolescent children, adolescent ethnic identity, and mental health. First, we tested whether quality of communication moderated the relationship between cultural pride reinforcement and ethnic identity affirmation and anxiety/depressive/withdrawn symptoms. Then, we examined whether cultural pride reinforcement and quality of communication with mothers were directly linked to ethnic identity affirmation and in turn lower anxiety/depressive symptoms and withdrawn behaviors. Our sample included 111 African American adolescents (58.2% female; ages 14–17) in the mid-Atlantic region. Results of a path analysis indicated that cultural pride reinforcement and quality of communication independently and uniquely related to internalizing symptoms through ethnic identity affirmation. Findings contribute to a novel understanding of how both cultural (cultural pride reinforcement) and universal (quality of communication) are important factors to foster African American adolescents’ healthy adjustment and sense of self.


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