Racial Group Identification and Its Relations to Individualism/ Interdependence and Race-Related Stress in African Americans

Abstract

This study examined individualistic and interdependent notions of self and race-related stress across racial group identification profiles extracted from cluster analyses. African American college students were recruited from an introductory psychology course and were asked to complete several self-report measures. Using k-means cluster analysis, four group identification profiles emerged. The results suggest that cluster profiles marked by an in-group focus on race (Internalization profile) were more likely to endorse individualistic and interdependent values than cluster profiles that emphasize commonality among in-group and out-group members (Universalist profile) or an Undifferentiated profile. The fourth cluster (Multicultural profile), marked by strong endorsement of oppressed ideologies as an essential feature of group identification, endorsed collectivistic values, but no individualistic values. In terms of race-related stress, participants in the Internalization profile were more likely to report cultural race-related stress than participants in the Universalist profile. The results suggest that cultural values related to interdependence and independence differ across African Americans’ racial group identifications. Implications for future research are discussed.