RACIAL MISIDENTIFICATION AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AMONG PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT. IS THERE A RELATIONSHIP?

Abstract

This study examined racial identity and psychopathology in people of African ancestry. Two hundred and twenty-one (221) participants were recruited comprising Continental Africans, African Americans and African Caribbean people. The results indicated a significant correlation between psychopathology and stages of racial identity development. Lower levels of African Self- Consciousness were related to anxiety, hostility and phobic anxiety. African Americans obtained the highest score on African Self-Consciousness. Further factor analyses of the African Self- Consciousness scale yielded two main factors; Value for Africentric beliefs and Value for Group identification. The findings suggest that racial identity plays an important role in the mental health of people of African ancestry.