Cultural Betrayal Trauma & Black American Young Adults: Future of Reflexivity in Social Work Research

Background & Purpose. As a Black feminist and critical race framework created by a Black American woman (Gómez), cultural betrayal trauma theory (CBTT) is a scientific theory that incorporates the context of inequality into the study of violence. CBTT proposes that (intra)cultural trust, such as solidarity in the Black community, is a protective factor against racism. As a violation of (intra)cultural trust, within-group violence is a cultural betrayal trauma, which is associated with mental, physical, and behavioral health, as well as cultural outcomes, such as internalized prejudice. Moreover, (intra)cultural pressure, which are dynamics of silencing survivors, stems from the need to protect the entire Black community from further racism. Though there is empirical research in support of CBTT, an ongoing limitation of this work is that there are no validated measures of CBTT. The purpose of the current study is to develop and validate the Cultural Betrayal Multidimensional Inventory for Black American Young Adults (CBMI-BAYA), with questionnaires for (intra)cultural trust, cultural betrayal, cultural betrayal trauma, other violence, and discrimination, (intra)cultural pressure/support, and posttraumatic growth. Methods. Following creating questionnaires based on the literature, lived experience, and expert reviewer feedback, we administered the CBMI-BAYA and convergent/divergent validity measures in an online survey to Black university students (Sample 1; N = 342) and Black community young adults (Sample 2; N = 619). Confirmatory factor analyses, correlational analyses, expert reviewer feedback, and theoretical contribution were all incorporated into validating the CBMI-BAYA. Results. From both samples, we validated the CBMI-BAYA, as a culturally congruent, scientifically valid set of questionnaires for research with Black American young adults. Conclusions & Implications. The validation of the CBMI-BAYA can advance racial and social justice in research, as it centers Black American young adults’ experiences of violence, discrimination, and in-group dynamics within the context of inequality. This approach is contrasted with those that would identify and study discrimination and violence as separate domains, as opposed to interconnected harms that are bound by societal inequality and therefore, negatively impacting Black American young adults. This study also engenders critical reflections for future work. Black and other marginalized researchers can reflexively complicate how we identify the foundations of our research, given that the distinction between a ‘scholarly literature foundation’ and a ‘Black community foundation’ is not always a clear one. While not being White outsiders working with Black populations, we are both part of our communities and agents of our White supremacist education system. As Patricia Hill Collins states regarding Black feminist scholars in particular, we are ‘outsiders within’, with multifaceted responsibility: 1) connection with and approval of the self, one’s lived experience, and ordinary people; 2) acceptance by community of Black women scholars; and 3) preparation to confront and resist White male Eurocentric epistemological requirements. The next 30 years of social work science is primed for Black and other marginalized scholars, researchers, and practitioners to use reflexivity to create and disseminate social work research that addresses social problems and challenges social injustice at micro- and macrolevels.