The Relationship between Afrocentric Values and Racial Identity Attitudes: Validation of the Belief Systems Analysis Scale on African American College Students

Abstract

The Belief Systems Analysis Scale (BSAS) was administered to 171 African American college students attending Black studies classes at a predominantly White institution to provide further evidence on the psychometric properties of the instrument. The Racial Identity Attitude Scale (RIAS) and the African Self-Consciousness Scale (ASCS) were used to provide construct validity and determine the relationship between an optimalAfrocentric belief system, racial identity attitudes, and African self-consciousness. Thefindings support the use of the total BSAS scale as ameasure of optimalAfrocentric values, although afactor analysis failed to confirm the structure on two of the five subscales as defined in the previous administration of the instrument on a sample of White college students. A direct relationship was found between the BSAS and the RIAS but not between the BSAS and the ASCS. It is suggested that Afrocentric values and African self-consciousness may represent separate domains of the overall African American identity structure.

Exploratory Factor Analysis of African Self-Consciousness Scale Scores

“…For instance, the Belief System Analysis Scale (Brookins, 1994) or the Nguzo Saba scale (Grills & Longshore, 1996) reflect aspects of Afrocentricity theorized to be more universal and cultural, such as communalism versus individualism, that differ from Baldwin and Bell's specifically racial and sociopolitical emphasis. Finally, the current study reduced the scale from a 42-to a 28-item measure, which should be pilot tested for its psychometric properties in future studies.…”

“…Brookins (1994) conducted a study of 171 male and female African American college students attending a predominantly White university in the southeastern United States and compared ASCS scores to those obtained from the Belief System Analysis Scale (BSAS), designed to measure the holistic, non-materialistic, and communalistic orientations associated with Afrocentricity. Total ASCS scores were not significantly correlated to BSAS scores.…”

“…Total ASCS scores were not significantly correlated to BSAS scores. This lack of association could be explained by differing emphases in the scales; whereas the BSAS appears to focus on race-neutral and value-oriented aspects of Afrocentricity, the ASCS may examine more race-specific and sociopolitical aspects (Brookins, 1994).…”

Teach With Me: The Promise of a Raced Politic for Social Justice in College Classrooms

“…What I am unfamiliar with is a complete absence of a Black politic. When I use the term "Black politic," this is a personal definition, informed by several scholars (Akbar, 1989;Brookins, 1994;Cokley, 2005) that helps me delineate between multiple White spaces as I understand them now. For me, a Black politic is an adherence to a healthy, positive valuation of an African-descended identity.…”

Exploring the Role of Culture and Race in African American Adolescents

“…Brookins' (1994) analysis of the relationship between Africancentered values and racial identity attitudes suggests that these two constructs are different domains of psychological health for African Americans; the cultural domain is "reflective of a basic humanistic value system" and the racial domain is "related to how one intends to cope with current sociopolitical realities" (p.141). Other researchers have made distinctions based on perceptions of the self.…”