Development and Validation of the Muslim Identity Socialization Scale (MISS)

Racial ethnic socialization (RES) practices are the messages youth receive on race, racism, and prejudice. This paper aimed to extend racial-ethnic socialization (RES) literature to Muslim American families to understand youth identity development. In Study One, focus groups (k = 3, n = 15) were conducted to understand common RES practices in Muslim young adults and create initial items for the scale. Thematic analyses revealed parents promoted their Muslim American youth to have other Muslim friends, however there was a consensus that parent did not prepare them for bias. Additionally, participants varied on cultural socialization and egalitarianism practices. Study two conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (n = 88) to develop and validate a culturally-competent, Muslim American identity socialization measure. The confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the Muslim Identity Socialization Scale (MISS) had excellent reliability with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.94; however, the measure needed to be adjusted due to the low goodness-of-fit indicators. This paper is the first to explore identity socialization and establish a scale for Muslim Americans. Future research directions and implications are discussed