The Racial Microaggression Scale (RMAS) published in 2012 contains
52 items rated on a 4-point Likert Scale.
Participants rate the items for experience from "never to often." If an act occurred, then they are asked to rate its level of
stress from "not at all" to "high level."
Sample Items
1. Because of my race, other people assume that I
am a foreigner.
18. I am singled out by police or security people
because of my race.
23. Other people act as if all of the people of my
race are alike.
49. I feel invisible because of my race.
The full scale is available from the PsycTESTS database
below.
Reliability and Validity
These factors were assessed and published in 2012.
See the reference below.
Alpha for the full 52 items was .949
The items were organized into six factors (see pages
156-157)
Invisibility: treated as if one is of lower
status, not visible, not seen as a “real” person, and being dismissed or
devalued
Criminality: treated as if one is aggressive,
dangerous, or a criminal
Low-Achieving/ Undesirable Culture: treated
as if people from one’s racial
background are interchangeable, uniformly
incompetent, incapable,
low achieving, and dysfunctional, and as if
successes are due
to unfair entitlements and special treatment
Sexualization: treated in an overly sexual
manner and being subject to
sexual stereotypes
Foreigner/Not Belonging: made to feel as if one is not a “true”
American or does not really belong because of one’s racial background; and
Environmental Invalidations: negative
perceptions that derive from observing that people from one’s racial background
are largely absent from work, school, or community settings or from positions
of power.
Environmental Invalidations .81
Foreigner/Not Belonging.78
Sexualization .83
Low-Achieving/Undesirable Culture .87
Criminality .85
Invisibility .89
Learn about writing items and creating surveys in:
Related
Posts
Cite This Blog Post
Sutton, G.W. (2020, June 27). Racial microaggression scale (RMAS). Assessment,
Statistics, & Research. https://statistics.suttong.com/2020/06/racial-microaggression-scale-rmas.html
References
Torres-Harding, S. R., Andrade, A. L., Jr., & Romero
Diaz, C. E. (2012). Racial Microaggression Scale [Database record]. Retrieved
from PsycTESTS. doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/t12549-000 (For the scale itself)
Torres-Harding, Susan R., Andrade, Alejandro L., &
Romero Diaz, Crist E. (2012). The Racial Microaggressions Scale (RMAS): A new scale
to measure experiences of racial microaggressions in people of color. Cultural
Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 18(2), 153-164. doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0027658
Permission to use the scale
From PsycTESTS
“Test content may be reproduced and used for non-commercial research and educational purposes without seeking written permission. Distribution must be controlled, meaning only to the participants engaged in the research or enrolled in the educational activity. Any other type of reproduction or distribution of test content is not authorized without written permission from the author and publisher. Always include a credit line that contains the source citation and copyright owner when writing about or using any test.”
Connections
Publications
(many free downloads)
Applied Statistics: Concepts for Counselors
Racism photo from Bing labeled free to share and use
