RACIAL IDENTITY, ACADEMIC-ACHIEVEMENT, AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED ADOLESCENTS

The relation between racial identity and personal psychological functi oning was examined within the framework of the ''racelessness'' constr uct proposed by Fordham and Ogbu (S. Fordham, 1988; S. Fordham & J. U. Ogbu, 1986). These researchers have proposed that academically succes sful African American students achieve their success by adopting behav iors and attitudes that distance them from their culture of origin, re sulting in increased feelings of depression, anxiety, and identity con fusion. Studies 1 and 2 describe the development of the Racelessness S cale (RS) designed to test these assumptions. Study 2 also investigate d Race X Achievement level differences in students' responses to the R S. In Study 3, correlations between the RS and measures of depression, self-efficacy, anxiety, alienation, and collective self-esteem were a ssessed. The pattern of results in Study 2 suggest that the behaviors and attitudes described by Fordham and Ogbu are common to high-achievi ng adolescents and not specific to African Americans. However, racial differences in the pattern of associations between the RS and measures of depression suggest that racelessness may have important psychologi cal consequences for African American adolescents.