Testing the Factorial Invariance of the Black Racial Identity Scale Across Gender

Given that over 50 studies have been published using the Black Racial Identity Scale (BRIAS), the study of its dimensions and structural components are important to understanding Black people and the evolution of Black racial identity theory. Unconstrained and constrained confirmatory factor analysis models were estimated across males and females to test the hypothesis that Black men and Black women will respond similarly on the BRIAS. Findings suggest that items on the BRIAS scales are not invariant across groups through interpreting fit indexes and the Lagrange multiplier test. The results of this study supports past research that found inconsistent psychometric qualities of the BRIAS.