The Development and Validation of a Colorism Scale

Abstract

Two studies were conducted to develop and then validate a scale to measure the construct of Colorism. While colorism is a long discussed phenomena within the Black community in the United States, there have been virtually no attempts to measure the degree to which individuals embrace it. The In-Group Colorism Scale (ICS) was developed to assess the degree to which skin tone variation is important across five essential domains: Self-Concept, Affiliation, Attraction, Impression Formation, and Upward Mobility. The scale was empirically tested and then replicated using two distinct national samples of Black Americans (total sample of 783 participants). The ICS proved to have both good reliability and good structural validity. Moreover, the ICS proved to be significantly related to other important constructs such as parental socialization, skin tone, self-esteem, stereotypes, racial identity, and socioeconomic status. The implications of the ICS for both research and practical applications are discussed.