A clinical scale for the assessment of racial trauma.

Abstract

Racism has been linked to the development or worsening of mental health disorders. When posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms occur due to experiences of racism, it may be referred to as race-based traumatic stress or racial trauma. More work is needed to quantify the distress experienced by those affected. The present study aimed to assess the validity of the Racial Trauma Scale (RTS), a new clinical tool for the measurement of trauma-related symptoms arising from race-based maltreatment of people of color (POC). Using CloudResearch (formerly Amazon Mechanical TurkPrime), 941 diverse participants across the United States were included in the study-POC (n = 665) and non-Hispanic White participants (n = 276). The results validated a three-factor structure, with 10 items on each component, for a total of 30 items. The three components can be described as Lack of Safety, Negative Cognitions, and Difficulty Coping. Reliability of the RTS and the three subscales were excellent, and the RTS scale was positively correlated with other measures of mental health and trauma. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in RTS scores between POC and non-Hispanic White participants. Based on these findings, the RTS appears to be a valid means of quantifying racial trauma symptoms in POC. The ultimate goal of the RTS is to identify racial trauma to improve the mental health of marginalized racial/ethnic groups. The RTS can be used in clinical or research settings to ascertain racial trauma in clients and inform treatment.

A Psychometric Investigation of Racial Trauma Symptoms Using a Semi-Structured Clinical Interview With a Trauma Checklist (UnRESTS)

“…RTS has shown excellent reliability and correlates well with other measures of mental health and trauma. 27 In our sample, the RTS had α = .96.…”

“…The RTS is a validated scale for quantifying the severity of racial trauma symptoms in POC. 27 RTS consists of 3 components (30 items in total) that can be described as (1) Lack of Safety, (2) Negative Cognitions, and (3) Difficulty Coping. Participants are asked to rate how much they have been bothered by each experience, on a 4-point scale, ranging from 1 (Not at all) to 4 (Extremely).…”

“…If the respondent satisfied the criteria for at least 3 of the 4 PTSD symptom clusters (A-D), the disturbance persisted for more than a month (F), and clinical significance was evident, racial trauma was determined (G). (For more details on this process, see the RTS validation paper 27 ).…”

Anxiety-Related Disorders in the Context of Racism

“…Additionally, in a systematic overview of studies that examined the relationship between racial discrimination and trauma, increased trauma symptoms were found to be statistically linked to racial discrimination in 70% of the 44 associations analyzed [ 62 ]. Notably, the association between racial discrimination and trauma symptoms has led to the development of the Racial Trauma Scale (RTS), which quantifies trauma-related symptoms that arise from the race-based maltreatment of individuals of color [ 63 ••].…”

Understanding the Psychological Impact of Oppression Using the Trauma Symptoms of Discrimination Scale

“…This paper will extend prior work to understand trauma across ethnoracial groups as well as other marginalized identities and several demographic dimensions, including gender, LGBTQ status, income, and education. We examine the TSDS and its relationships to clinical symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, as well as PTSD using the data from Williams et al 29 in a cross-sectional survey study. We also examine the unique risks associated with intersectionality, and how having multiple marginalized identities may increase traumatization.…”