Development and validation of the Index of Race-Related Stress (IRRS).

Abstract

This article describes the development and validation of a measure of the stress experienced by African Americans as a result of their daily encounters with racism and discrimination. The Index of Race-Related Stress (IRRS) is a 46-item instrument developed according to the theoretical framework of daily hassles (R. S. Lazarus & S. Folkman, 1984) and integrated with P. Essed's (1990) concept of everyday racism. The IRRS has adequate indexes of internal consistency and fair-to-adequate estimates of test-retest stability. Several subscales of the IRRS and a global racism index were correlated with other measures of stress and racism. Furthermore, the IRRS discriminated between Blacks and non-Blacks in a group-differences study. Both principal-components and confirmatory factor analyses supported a 4-component model of race-related stress.

Cites (5)

1. A Global Measure of Perceived Stress
   Cohen, Sheldon, Kamarck, Tom, Mermelstein, Robin · 1983 · Journal of Health and Social Behavior
2. “Stress: appraisal and coping,”
   Folkman, Susan · 2013 · Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine
3. Significance tests and goodness of fit in the analysis of covariance structures.
   P. M. Bentler, Douglas G. Bonett · 1980 · Psychological Bulletin
4. Construct validity in psychological tests.
   Cronbach, Lee J., Meehl, Paul E. · 1955 · Psychological Bulletin
5. On Merging Identity Theory and Stress Research
   Thoits, Peggy A. · 1991 · Social Psychology Quarterly

Show all 5 references

Cited by (38)

1. Racial microaggressions in everyday life: Implications for clinical practice.
   Sue, Derald Wing, Capodilupo, Christina M., Torino, Gina C., Bucceri, Jennifer M., Holder, Aisha M. B., Nadal, Kevin L., Esquilin, Marta · 2007 · American Psychologist
2. Discrimination and racial disparities in health: evidence and needed research
   Williams, David R., Mohammed, Selina A. · 2009 · Journal of Behavioral Medicine
3. Racism as a stressor for African Americans: A biopsychosocial model.
   Clark, Rodney, Anderson, Norman B., Clark, Vernessa R., Williams, David R. · 1999 · American Psychologist
4. Racial/Ethnic discrimination and health: findings from community studies
   Williams, David R., Neighbors, Harold W., Jackson, James S. · 2003 · American Journal of Public Health
5. A systematic review of empirical research on self-reported racism and health
   Paradies, Yin · 2006 · International Journal of Epidemiology

See all 350