Familial Ethnic Socialization Measure (FESM)
The Familial Ethnic Socialization Measure (FESM) is used to assess the degree to which participants perceive that their families socialized them with respect to their ethnicity. Originally developed in Umaña-Taylor (2001) as a 9-item scale, it was modified by adding 3 new items. The modified version was first published in Umaña-Taylor, Yazedjian, & Bámaca-Gómez (2004), as described below.
Revised Version. The measure consists of 12 items (e.g., “My family teaches me about our family’s ethnic/cultural background” and “Our home is decorated with things that reflect my ethnic/cultural background”). Items are scored on a 5-point Likert scale, with end points of “not at all true” (1) and “very much” (5), and “not at all” (1) and “very often” (5). Responses are coded so that higher scores indicate higher levels of familial ethnic socialization. Although it is most commonly used as a single factor scale, the scale consists of two subscales: overt and covert familial ethnic socialization. The overt subscale assesses the extent to which family members purposely or intentionally socialize their adolescents about their ethnicity. From the original version 9-item version of the scale (Umaña-Taylor & Fine, 2001), this subscale obtained coefficient alphas ranging from .78 to .87, with adolescents from diverse ethnic backgrounds (e.g., Salvadoran, Vietnamese; Umaña-Taylor, Bhanot, & Shin, 2006). The covert subscale assesses the extent to which family members inadvertently socialize their adolescents about their ethnicity. To date, the validity of these two-factors have not been examined in the 12-item version of the scale.
Psychometric Properties. The original version, consisting of 9 items, obtained a coefficient alpha of .82 with a sample of Mexican-origin adolescents (Umaña-Taylor & Fine, 2004). The 12-item revised version obtained alpha coefficients ranging from .92 to .94 with ethnically diverse samples (Umaña-Taylor, Yazedjian, & Bámaca-Gómez, 2004).
Further information on the exposition and development of FESM can be found:
Umaña-Taylor, A. J. (2001). Ethnic identity development among Mexican-origin Latino adolescents living in the U.S. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Missouri, Columbia.
Umaña-Taylor, A. J., & Fine, M. A. (2001). Methodological implications of grouping Latino adolescents into one collective ethnic group. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 23, 347-362.
Umaña-Taylor, A. J. & Fine, M. A. (2004). Examining a model of ethnic identity development among Mexican-origin adolescents living in the U.S. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 26, 36-59.
Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Yazedjian, A. & Bámaca-Gómez, M. Y. (2004). Developing the Ethnic Identity Scale using Eriksonian and social identity perspectives. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 4, 9-38.
Ethnic-Racial Groups Assessed. The FESM has been used with African American, Asian American, Native American/American Indian, Latino, White, and Multiracial adolescent populations in the U.S.
The measure has also been applied to a sample of deaf/hard of hearing emerging adults by Macrae Husting and Jacqueline Nguyen at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
References
Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Alfaro, E. C., Bámaca, M. Y., & Guimond, A. (2009). The central role of familial ethnic socialization in Latino adolescents’ cultural orientation. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71, 46-60.
Schwartz, S. J., Zamboanga, B. L., Rodriguez, L.& Wang, S. C. (2007). The Structure of Cultural Identity in an Ethnically Diverse Sample of Emerging Adults. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 29, 159-173
Supple, A. J., Ghazarian, S. R., Frabutt, J. M., Plunkett, S. W., & Sands, T. (2006). Contextual influences on Latino adolescent ethnic identity and academic outcomes. Child Development, 77, 1427-1433.
Using FESM
All researchers have permission to use the 12-item FESM, with the following citations:
Umaña-Taylor, A. J. (2001). Ethnic identity development among Mexican-origin Latino adolescents living in the U.S. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Missouri, Columbia.
Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Yazedjian, A. & Bámaca-Gómez, M. Y. (2004). Developing the Ethnic Identity Scale using Eriksonian and social identity perspectives. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 4, 9-38.
To download the FESM in English, click here. For a Spanish version, click here. For a version for working with parents, in English and Spanish, click here. For the FESM in Italian, click here.
If you are planning to translate the FESM into other languages, please send the final version of the measure and any information on how the measure held up in analyses to Adriana Umaña-Taylor.