Strength of Ethnic Affiliation: Examining Black Identification With Black Culture.

The article examines the psychometric characteristics of a scale assessing Black's identification with Black culture in the United States. Black identification is a measure of a Black person's sense of belonging to the Black race and his or her concern with Black issues and causes: A Black who strongly identifies with being Black expresses attitudes and behaviors supportive of the Black community. A 35-item instrument was constructed that included several aspects of Black identification. To assess its criterion validity, the 13-item scale derived from the college sample was correlated with eight measures of reported activities believed to be associated with commitment to Black culture. An instrument to assess Blacks' identification with Black culture has been offered as an example of determining strength of ethnic affiliation. Blacks with high identification were more likely to participate in causes and activities involving the Black community and to have more Black (than White) associates than those with low identification. The construct of Black identification is measurable and that the instrument is both reliable and valid.