Validation of the Scale of Racial Socialization for African American Adolescents: Steps toward Multidimensionality

Little empirical work has been initiated that broadens the definition of racial socialization and its measurement to integrate it with current theoretical discussion of racial identity developmentand AfricanAmerican cultural characteristics and strengths. This study reports the development and validation of the Scale of Racial SocializationforAdolescents (SORS-A). A principal components analysis was conducted following administration of the SORS-A and measures of demographics, family communication about racism, and perception of skin color to 200 African American urban teenagers. Four factors were found to be very meaningful and moderately reliable. The racial socialization factors include Spiritual and Religious Coping, Extended Family Caring, Cultural Pride Reinforcement, and Racism Awareness Teaching. A second-order factor analysis to identify underlying themes was also conducted. Themes of protective and proactive racial socialization were found to be supportive of a theoreticalframework for racial socialization that is multidimensional and inclusive of both socially oppressive and culturally empowering experiences.