• Prospective Students
• Alumni
• Business & Industry
• Visitors

• Apply Now »
  • Undergraduate
  • Graduate

• Graduate Admission
• Undergrad Admission
• IIT Financial Aid
• Psychology Programs
• Student Life

Dr. Young's Lab

ASSESSMENT OF DISTRESS IN AFRICAN AMERICANS AND CAUCASIAN AMERICANS: Using the SCL-90-R to assess distress in African Americans and Caucasian Americans
Liat Ayalon and Michael A. Young
In press: Journal of Black Studies

This study is the first to evaluate the appropriateness of the use of the SCL-90-R with African American college students. Two types of racial group differences on the SCL-90-R subscales were evaluated: (a) differences in symptom report for reasons unrelated to the severity of the subscale pathology; and (b) differences in how the symptom is related to the subscale pathology. The sample consisted of 70 African American and 66 Caucasian American students. On five items distributed across three subscales, there were group differences in how the symptom is related to the severity of the subscale, suggesting that the constructs of subscale pathology differ across groups. On one item, symptom severity differed across groups, for reasons unrelated to the severity of the specific subscale and, therefore, resulting in test bias. Findings support the use of the SCL-90-R with African American college students.