Mental Disorders and Treatment

Validating a Measure of Ethnic Identity in Afro-Caribbean American Students

Abstract

Keisha V Thompson

The purpose of this study was to validate the Multi group Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) on a sample of Afro- Caribbean American college students. This investigation is unique in that it disaggregated the data to go beyond the usual labels of Black and African American used in past validation studies. Due to being subsumed in the past under such monikers, information on the ethnic identity of Afro-Caribbean American college students has largely been missing from the literature. This investigation served as a comparison to past investigations on ethnic identity in populations of African descent. The results of this study indicated that the structure of the MEIM is consistent in this population. However, the results also indicated that ethnic identity does not have the same relationship with selfesteem and depression as it has in previously studied Black/African American and minority populations in the United States. The uniqueness of this population as well as the distinctive study results are discussed.