Cultural Trauma Scale (CuTS)

Abstract

The Cultural Trauma Scale (CuTS), developed by Gregory and Tucker Edmonds (2023), is a 27-item psychometric instrument designed to quantify the multidimensional impact of cultural trauma and its structural roots, cognitive-emotional consequences, and resulting adaptive coping responses among Black men in the United States. This scale addresses a critical gap in psychological research concerning the unique experiences of race-based trauma specific to this population, recognizing their disproportionate exposure to systemic violence and injustice.

The scale development began with an extensive pool of 73 items informed by a preceding qualitative investigation into Black American men’s contemporary experiences with racial injustice. Following thorough review by subject matter experts and community partners, the instrument was statistically refined. Through the use of Principal Axis Factoring, the final measure was established, retaining 27 items across five core psychological constructs. The reliability of the resulting factor structure has been empirically reported.

Keywords

Cultural Trauma, Race-Based Trauma, Cognitive-Emotional Responses, Cognitive-Behavioral Coping, Resilience, Justice System, Tripartite Police Fear, Health-Seeking Behavior.

Authors

Virgil Lee Gregory Jr., Joseph Tucker Edmonds.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the CuTS is to provide a comprehensive assessment framework for measuring the effects of cultural trauma within the population of Black men. It specifically aims to evaluate how racial injustice manifests across multiple domains, including structural beliefs (regarding the justice system), cognitive and emotional well-being, familial support structures, and the propensity for professional health-seeking behavior related to trauma recovery.

Construct

The Cultural Trauma Scale measures five distinct psychological constructs that delineate the experience and response to systemic racial injustice. These factors move beyond individual psychological distress to incorporate socio-structural appraisal and communal coping mechanisms.

The five measured constructs are:

• American and its Justice System: Cognitive–Emotional Responses (Appraisal of systemic unfairness and associated emotional burden).
• Cognitive–Behavioral Coping (Active strategies, including community and family support, used to manage racial stress).
• Willingness to Seek Treatment for Cultural Trauma (Attitudes toward professional mental and medical health services for trauma resulting from racial injustice).
• Tripartite Police Fear (Fear related to personal safety, family safety, and general anxiety in the presence of law enforcement).
• Resilience (Beliefs in positive outcomes, spiritual strength, and the ability to achieve goals despite racial obstacles).

Validity

At the time of the initial reporting, specific data concerning the construct or criterion validity of the Cultural Trauma Scale were not yet available for comprehensive publication. Future psychometric evaluations are expected to establish these metrics.

Reliability

The internal consistency of the CuTS was established using Cronbach’s alpha (α) coefficients for each of the five factors, demonstrating acceptable to strong reliability across most subscales.

• American and its justice system: cognitive–emotional responses (Cronbach’s α = .88)
• Cognitive–behavioral coping (Cronbach’s α = .77)
• Willingness to seek cultural trauma treatment (Cronbach’s α = .88)
• Tripartite police fear (Cronbach’s α = .81)
• Resilience (Cronbach’s α = .61)

Factor Analysis

The structural integrity of the CuTS was determined through an iterative process of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) utilizing the Principal Axis Factoring (PAF) extraction method.

The initial PAF was conducted on 55 items, from which items were systematically removed if they had a weak empirical relationship (pattern coefficient < .30) or exhibited excessive theoretical overlap. This initial refinement resulted in a 30-item scale. Further refinement involved removing items that were the sole item to load on a factor or demonstrated complex cross-loading across three different factors.

The third PAF extraction on 28 items confirmed a robust 5-factor structure. The explained variance for the five retained factors during this stage was reported as follows:

• Factor 1: 29.72%
• Factor 2: 0.04%
• Factor 3: 6.70%
• Factor 4: 6.25%
• Factor 5: 4.46%

The final, validated structure of the CuTS utilized 27 items and confirmed the stable 5-factor model.

Instrument

Test Type: Original Inventory/Questionnaire

Format: The instrument consists of 27 items utilizing a 7-point Likert scale format. Response options range from: strongly disagree (1), disagree (2), slightly disagree (3), neither agree nor disagree (4), slightly agree (5), agree (6), to strongly agree (7). Administration can be conducted electronically or via paper.

Language Available: English

Population Group: Human; Male

Age Group: Adulthood (18 years and older)

Population Details: The scale was developed and validated using a sample of Black Men residing in the United States.

Test Methodology: The development and evaluation employed rigorous psychometric methods including Test Reliability analysis, Internal Consistency checks (using Cronbach’s alpha), Factor Analysis, and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA).

Keywords

Coping Behavior, Emotional Responses, Health Care Seeking Behavior, Justice System, Male Attitudes, Psychological Resilience, Police Violence, Racial Trauma, Trauma Measures, Cultural Attitudes.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier:

• Gregory, Virgil Lee, Jr.: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7991-802X

Affiliation Email addresses:

• Gregory Jr., Virgil Lee: Indiana University School of Social Work
• Tucker Edmonds, Joseph: Department of Africana Studies, Indiana University School of Liberal Arts
• Email (Gregory, Virgil Lee, Jr.): [email protected]

Correspondence Address:

• Gregory, Virgil Lee, Jr.: Indiana University School of Social Work, 902 West New York Street, ES 4153, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 46202, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: The scale may be used for Research and Teaching purposes.

Commercial Use: No

Fee: No fee is required for use.

Test Year: 2023

Reference’s

Gregory, V. L., Jr., & Tucker Edmonds, J. (2024). Cultural Trauma Scale: Psychometric evaluation of Black men’s beliefs, emotions, and coping. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 16(8), 1329–1337. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001607

Items of the Cultural Trauma Scale (CuTS)

The Cultural Trauma Scale (CuTS) consists of 27 items, categorized into five core factors:

Factors and Subscales:

• American and its justice system: cognitive–emotional responses
• Cognitive–behavioral coping
• Willingness to seek treatment for cultural trauma
• Tripartite police fear
• Resilience

Items

1. I do not trust the American justice system
2. America is against Black people
3. The American justice system is designed to keep Black people down
4. I am disappointed in how America treats Black people
5. You’re more likely to be found guilty if you are Black
6. When police officers kill Black people, the justice system does not hold them accountable for their actions
7. Seeing African Americans die by police actions has forever changed the way I view this country
8. There should be more Black people working in the American justice system
9. I am emotionally drained by the Black racial injustice in this country
10. Seeing Black people being killed by police makes me want revenge
11. Social media plays an important role in educating people about important Black social issues
12. My community helps me deal with Black racial injustice
13. Social media plays an important role in gaining support for protests
14. My family relationships help me deal with Black racial injustice
15. Black racial injustice issues have caused me to lose sleep
16. Changing my thinking helps me cope with Black racial injustice issues
17. Mental health services are a great way to cope with the effects of Black racial injustice
18. I am willing to discuss Black racial injustice issues with mental health professionals
19. I am willing to discuss Black racial injustice issues with medical professionals
20. I fear for my life because of Black racial injustice in America
21. I fear for my family members’ lives because of Black racial injustice in America
22. I get extremely nervous when I see police
23. Black racial injustice causes my family members to worry about my safety
24. Protests should always be peaceful and nonviolent
25. God will give us the justice that we seek in America
26. Something positive will come from all of these negative Black racial injustice issues
27. Black racial injustice will not stop me from achieving my goals

Note: Response options utilize a 7-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7).