Are CRIS Cluster Patterns Differentially Associated With African American Enculturation and Social Distance?

Abstract

The authors examined whether Black racial identity cluster patterns, using Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS) scores, were differentially associated with preference for African American culture and social distance from various cultural groups. African American college students ( N = 351) completed the CRIS, an enculturation scale, and a social distance measure. Six racial identity cluster patterns were identified using cluster analysis. A one-way analysis of variance indicated that individuals with an Assimilated cluster pattern endorsed African American culture less than those with an Afrocentric or Intense Black Involvement pattern; those with a Self-Hating cluster pattern endorsed African American culture less than those with an Afrocentric pattern. A one-way multivariate analysis of variance, followed by a descriptive discriminant analysis, on the social distance measure indicated that individuals with Self-Hating and Assimilated cluster patterns preferred less social distance from Whites, Asians, and Jews than individuals with Intense Black Involvement, Afrocentric, and Immersion cluster patterns.