1 - (SYM 45) Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Race-based Traumatic Stress Symptom Scale in AANHPI Adults

To understand the profound negative effects of racism, scholars have leveraged a trauma-informed framework in these efforts. To advance these goals, psychometrically-sound measures of racial trauma are needed. Thus far, innovations in such measures have predominantly been investigated with majority Black samples, and few have been tested in majority AANHPI samples. The Race-Based Traumatic Stress Symptom Scale (RBTSSS; Carter et al., 2013) is a 52-item measure that assesses responses to racial trauma, or the psychological, emotional, and physical injury that occurs from experiencing actual or perceived racism. This study examined the factor structure of the RBTSSS in a sample of AANHPI adults using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The sample (n = 403) comprised 78% women, ages 18–72 years, who were administered the RBTSSS. A first-order and second-order CFA were conducted. The RBTSSS demonstrated good internal consistency in the present study, Cronbach's αs = .78–.94. The first-order CFA revealed mixed model fit indices, χ²(1,253) = 3,431.52, p < .001, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .066, comparative fit index (CFI) = .875, Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) = .868. The second-order CFA revealed similar mixed findings, χ²(1,267) = 3,559.93, p < .001, RMSEA = .067, CFI = .869, TLI = .863. Results demonstrated mixed support for the factor structure of the RBTSSS in AANHPI adults, suggesting that the original seven-factor model of the RBTSSS may not be an appropriate model to describe experiences of racial trauma in AANHPIs. This has significant implications on how racial trauma is conceptualized, measured, and ultimately treated in AAPIs. Future research may consider additional testing of the RBTSSS in AANHPIs and further exploring the construct of racial trauma in AANHPIs.