Description

The Ethnic Identity Scale (EIS) was developed to assess adolescents’ ethnic identity development. It captures three domains: 1) Exploration (efforts to learn about one’s ethnic group), 2) Resolution (clarity about the meaning and importance of one’s ethnicity), and 3) Affirmation (positive or negative feelings about one’s ethnic group membership). Items ask participants about their behaviors, feelings, and thoughts related to their ethnicity. The scale is used to examine relationships between ethnic identity and outcomes such as self-esteem, coping, and resilience.

AI/AN Communities where the measure has been used

Native American adolescents, majority Oklahoma/southeastern U.S. based tribes.

Demographics of AI/AN participants where the scale has been used

Native American adolescents enrolled in Native-run boarding school in Oklahoma, ages 13–19 years old. 31 tribal affiliations.

Notes on adaptations or modifications

  1. Items 1 (“My feelings about my ethnicity are mostly negative”) and 2 (“I have not participated in any activities that would teach me about my ethnicity”) removed because original model was a poor fit in this sample, hypothesized to be due to Native-focused curriculum at school.
  2. Substantial error covariance between Items 6 and 11 (“I have read books/magazines/newspapers or other materials that have taught me about my ethnicity” and “I have learned about my ethnicity by doing things such as reading [books/magazines/newspapers], searching the Internet, or keeping up with current events”), so incorporated covariance into model.

Modality and administration

Self-report; paper-and-pencil questionnaire

Scoring

  • Items rated on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = Does not describe me at all; 4 = Describes me very well).
  • Ten items are positively worded, seven negatively worded (reverse scored).
  • Subscale scores are averaged to produce separate scores for Exploration, Resolution, and Affirmation.

Psychometric evidence

Confirmatory factor analysis indicated good model fit after modifications; Cronbach’s alpha for subscales ranged from 0.82-0.86.

Citation(s)

Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Yazedjian, A., & Bámaca-Gómez, M. (2004). Developing the Ethnic Identity Scale Using Eriksonian and Social Identity Perspectives. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 4(1), 9–38. https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532706XID0401_2 [Original citation]

Yetter, G., & Foutch, V. (2013). Investigation of the Structural Invariance of the Ethnic Identity Scale With Native American Youth. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 13(4), 309–325. https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2013.830330

Note: The included citations are not exhaustive, but represent the examples we had access to. If you are an original author or have other work that could be included here, please contact us.