The Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity: A Validation Study in a British Sample

Abstract

Ninety-five Black Britons completed the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity. The pattern of intercorrelations between the dimensions provided supportive evidence of its construct validity. To a lesser extent, evidence of predictive validity was also observed. When compared with findings from the original study using African Americans, two important differences were noted. First, levels of centrality were lower in the current sample suggesting that racial identity is less critical to one’s self-concept among Black Britons than their American counter-parts. Second, centrality and nationalist ideology were negatively associated with the amount of time spent with Whites in the American sample but were unrelated to this criterion in the British sample. Attempts to explain these findings explored both methodological and theoretical considerations.