An examination of the factor structure of the index of race-related stress among a sample of African American adolescents

In the present study, the Index of Race-Related Stress (IRRS) was administered to a sample of urban African American adolescents. This instrument has been used among samples of adult and collegiate African Americans, and the purpose of the present study was to examine the factor structure of adolescent responses. The scale was modified and administered to a sample of 324 African American adolescents. The results provided empirical evidence of validity for the IRRS, particularly as a measure of race-related stress among adolescents. The measure re-quired some modifications, which included deletion of items and rewording some questions to make them relevant for an adolescent sample. Future research should consider the assessment of race-related stress among adolescent samples to understand its association with mental and physical health