Familial Ethnic Socialization Measure (FESM)
Familial Ethnic Socialization
The Familial Ethnic Socialization Measure (FESM) was originally developed as a 9-item version (Umaña-Taylor, 2001) and designed to assess the degree to which participants perceived that their families socialized them with respect to their ethnoracial background. In 2002-2003, a revised 12-item version was developed, which included the original 9 items and added 3 additional items (Umaña-Taylor, Yazedjian, & Bámaca-Gómez, 2004).
The FESM contains two subscales, overt and covert socialization. The overt subscale assesses the extent to which family members intentionally socialize their adolescents about their ethnoracial backgrounds. The covert subscale assesses the extent to which family members unintentionally socialize their adolescents about their ethnoracial backgrounds. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale, with end points of not at all (1) and very much (5). Responses are coded so that higher scores indicate higher levels of familial ethnic socialization. The original 9-item version obtained a coefficient alpha of 0.82 with a sample of Mexican-origin adolescents (Umaña-Taylor & Fine, 2004). The 12-item revised version has obtained alpha coefficients ranging from 0.92 to 0.94 with ethnically diverse samples (Umaña-Taylor, Bhanot, & Shin, 2006; Umaña-Taylor, Yazedjian, & Bámaca-Gómez, 2004).
FESM Brief Version
In 2019-2021, a brief version of the FESM was developed for the My Life My Identity (MLMI) Project (Umaña-Taylor, Sladek, & Safa, 2024). In an effort to reduce participant burden during data collection, the MLMI Team conducted psychometric analysis of the full 12-item FESM using data from various other AERID Lab projects to identify potential items to omit to create a shortened version of the FESM. The resulting 7-item abbreviated scale includes specific questions like "My family teaches me about my ethnic-racial background," with responses ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much). The selection of the 7 items was based on rigorous psychometric testing using data from a diverse sample of adolescents. This testing examined various reliability indicators such as Cronbach's alpha, which was 0.90, and inter-item correlations. Validity was assessed through correlations with related constructs, such as ethnic-racial identity, and discussions about the face validity of the items. Items that did not significantly alter the overall scale's mean or variability, and maintained a high alpha if removed, were excluded from the shortened version.
Furthermore, the revised 7-item scale demonstrated good overall psychometric properties, comparable to the original 12-item scale, across different racial groups including Asian American, Black, Latinx, and White adolescents. A one-factor confirmatory factor analysis with the MLMI sample showed a good fit, supporting the scale’s validity and reliability in measuring family ethnic-racial socialization. Higher scores on this scale indicate greater socialization efforts by families regarding ethnic-racial heritage.
12-item & 7-item versions
The 12-item and 7-item versions appear below. Recent use of the FESM has involved a modification to all items in which “ethnic/cultural” has been changed to “ethnic-racial” – The 7-item version reflects this wording change.
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, 1427-143
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., Bhanot, R., & Shin, N. (2006). Ethnic identity formation during adolescence: The critical role of families. Journal of Family Issues, 27, 390-414.
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., Sladek, M. R., & Safa, M. D. (2024). Teachers’ implementation of the identity project is associated with increases in U.S. high school students’ ethnic-racial identity exploration. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-024-01955-2
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.
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.