Multiracial Challenges and Resilience Scale
Nazish M. Salahuddin & Karen M. O’Brien, 2011
Part 1
The term “Multiracial” refers to an individual whose biological parents represent two or more different racial groups (e.g., your mother is Black, White, Asian, Native American, Middle Eastern, Latino, or biracial and your father is a different race than your mother).
For the following 15 items, please indicate how often each event has happened to you (FREQUENCY) and how distressed you felt as a result of the event (DISTRESS). Please use the following 6 point scales:
FREQUENCY DISTRESS
0-Never happened to me 0-Not at all distressed
1-Happened to me once 1-Slightly distressed
2-Happened to me 2-4 times 2-Somewhat distressed
3-Happened to me 5-7 times 3-Moderately distressed
4-Happened to me 8-10 times 4-Very distressed
5-Happened to me more than 10 times 5-Extremely distressed
1. Someone chose NOT to date me because I am Multiracial.
2. An individual acted surprised when they saw me with a family member because we look like we belong to different racial group(s).
3. A family member said something negative about Multiracial/Biracial people.
4. Someone outside my family said something derogatory about Multiracial/Biracial people.
5. I was discriminated against because of one or more of my racial backgrounds.
6. Someone in my family made a hurtful statement about one of the racial group(s) with whom I identify.
7. When I disclosed my racial background, someone acted surprised.
8. A family member said that I am NOT a “real” member of a racial group(s) with whom I identify.
9. I told someone about my racial background(s), but they did NOT believe me.
10. A member of my family expected me to “choose” one racial group with whom to identify.
11. Someone placed me in a racial category based on their assumptions about my race.
12. A member of my family treated me like an “outsider” because I am Multiracial.
13. I was the victim of discrimination because I am Multiracial.
14. A person outside of my family made a hurtful statement about one of the racial group(s) with whom I identify.
15. Someone did NOT believe I was related to a family member because we look like we belong to different racial groups.
Part 2
Based on your experiences as a Multiracial person, please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with each of the following statements.
Please respond to items 26-35 use the following 6 point scale, indicating how strongly you agree or disagree with each of the statements below.
0= Strongly disagree
1= Disagree
2= Slightly disagree
3= Slightly agree
4= Agree
5= Strongly Agree
16. I love being Multiracial.
17. I hide parts of myself when interacting with some friends.
18. Being Multiracial makes me feel MORE attractive to romantic partners.
19. As a Multiracial person, I have developed an appreciation of different cultures.
20. I feel the need to prove my racial identity to others.
21. Because of my experiences as a Multiracial person, I value human differences.
22. I am proud that I am Multiracial.
23. Being Multiracial has taught me to understand multiple perspectives.
24. I feel as if I do NOT belong to any racial group.
25. Because of my experiences as a Multiracial person, I have compassion for people who are different than myself.
26. I wish I was NOT Multiracial.
27. Being Multiracial has taught me to adapt to a variety of cultural situations.
28. Being Multiracial makes me feel special.
29. I feel pressure to distance myself from a racial group to which I feel connected.
30. Because I am Multiracial, I do NOT have a strong sense of who I am.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*Item 26 should be reverse scored. Scores are obtained by computing the mean for each subscale separately.
SUBSCALES:
Others’ Surprise/Disbelief Regarding Racial Heritage 2, 7, 9, 11, 15
Lack of Family Acceptance: 3, 6, 8, 10, 12
Multiracial Discrimination: 1, 4, 5, 13, 14
Challenges with Racial Identity: 17, 20, 24, 29, 30
Appreciation of Human Differences: 19, 21, 23, 25, 27
Multiracial Pride: 16, 18, 22, 26, 28
**Individuals may use this scale without permission from the researchers for research or counseling purposes.
Salahuddin, N.M., & O'Brien, K.M. (2011). Challenges and resilience in the lives of urban, multiracial adults: An instrument development study. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58(4), 494-507.
The term “Multiracial” refers to an individual whose biological parents represent two or more different racial groups (e.g., your mother is Black, White, Asian, Native American, Middle Eastern, Latino, or biracial and your father is a different race than your mother).
For the following 15 items, please indicate how often each event has happened to you (FREQUENCY) and how distressed you felt as a result of the event (DISTRESS). Please use the following 6 point scales:
FREQUENCY DISTRESS
0-Never happened to me 0-Not at all distressed
1-Happened to me once 1-Slightly distressed
2-Happened to me 2-4 times 2-Somewhat distressed
3-Happened to me 5-7 times 3-Moderately distressed
4-Happened to me 8-10 times 4-Very distressed
5-Happened to me more than 10 times 5-Extremely distressed
1. Someone chose NOT to date me because I am Multiracial.
2. An individual acted surprised when they saw me with a family member because we look like we belong to different racial group(s).
3. A family member said something negative about Multiracial/Biracial people.
4. Someone outside my family said something derogatory about Multiracial/Biracial people.
5. I was discriminated against because of one or more of my racial backgrounds.
6. Someone in my family made a hurtful statement about one of the racial group(s) with whom I identify.
7. When I disclosed my racial background, someone acted surprised.
8. A family member said that I am NOT a “real” member of a racial group(s) with whom I identify.
9. I told someone about my racial background(s), but they did NOT believe me.
10. A member of my family expected me to “choose” one racial group with whom to identify.
11. Someone placed me in a racial category based on their assumptions about my race.
12. A member of my family treated me like an “outsider” because I am Multiracial.
13. I was the victim of discrimination because I am Multiracial.
14. A person outside of my family made a hurtful statement about one of the racial group(s) with whom I identify.
15. Someone did NOT believe I was related to a family member because we look like we belong to different racial groups.
Part 2
Based on your experiences as a Multiracial person, please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with each of the following statements.
Please respond to items 26-35 use the following 6 point scale, indicating how strongly you agree or disagree with each of the statements below.
0= Strongly disagree
1= Disagree
2= Slightly disagree
3= Slightly agree
4= Agree
5= Strongly Agree
16. I love being Multiracial.
17. I hide parts of myself when interacting with some friends.
18. Being Multiracial makes me feel MORE attractive to romantic partners.
19. As a Multiracial person, I have developed an appreciation of different cultures.
20. I feel the need to prove my racial identity to others.
21. Because of my experiences as a Multiracial person, I value human differences.
22. I am proud that I am Multiracial.
23. Being Multiracial has taught me to understand multiple perspectives.
24. I feel as if I do NOT belong to any racial group.
25. Because of my experiences as a Multiracial person, I have compassion for people who are different than myself.
26. I wish I was NOT Multiracial.
27. Being Multiracial has taught me to adapt to a variety of cultural situations.
28. Being Multiracial makes me feel special.
29. I feel pressure to distance myself from a racial group to which I feel connected.
30. Because I am Multiracial, I do NOT have a strong sense of who I am.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*Item 26 should be reverse scored. Scores are obtained by computing the mean for each subscale separately.
SUBSCALES:
Others’ Surprise/Disbelief Regarding Racial Heritage 2, 7, 9, 11, 15
Lack of Family Acceptance: 3, 6, 8, 10, 12
Multiracial Discrimination: 1, 4, 5, 13, 14
Challenges with Racial Identity: 17, 20, 24, 29, 30
Appreciation of Human Differences: 19, 21, 23, 25, 27
Multiracial Pride: 16, 18, 22, 26, 28
**Individuals may use this scale without permission from the researchers for research or counseling purposes.
Salahuddin, N.M., & O'Brien, K.M. (2011). Challenges and resilience in the lives of urban, multiracial adults: An instrument development study. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58(4), 494-507.