Validating the Cross Racial Identity Scale.

Abstract

Validation work on the Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS; B. J. Vandiver et al., 2000) is described in 2 studies using African American college students. In Study 1, an exploratory factor analysis supported the presence of 6 CRIS subscales. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis provided support for a 2-factor higher order model of the 6 CRIS subscales and the nigrescence model. Correlational analyses between the CRIS and the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (R. M. Sellers, M. A. Smith, J. N. Shelton, S. A. J. Rowley, & T. M. Chavous, 1998). supported the convergent validity of the CRIS. CRIS subscale scores were not meaningfully linked to social desirability or personality traits but were differentially linked to self-esteem.