The African American adolescent respect scale: A measure of a prosocial attitude

Objectives: The respect that African American youth feel promotes psychological wellness and social identify; conversely, a lack of respect compromises their identities and is viewed as a threat to safety. This article describes the development, psychometric analysis, and validation of the African American Respect Scale, a 20-item instrument measuring prosocial attitudes held by male adolescents. Method: The scale was administered to 200 African American male youth age 14 to 18 years; 100 were incarcerated in juvenile corrections facilities, 100 resided in the community. Results: After acceptable reliability was established, factor analysis revealed three principal components labeled societal, family, and peer subscales. The subscales correlated with racial socialization and predicted the use of violence. Nonincarcerated youth scored significantly higher on all three subscales than incarcerated youth. Conclusions: Suggestions for social work practice with African American youth include assessing their attitudes toward respect, and assisting them to handle disrespect without resorting to violence.