An Exploratory Factor Analysis of the Black Girl Invisibility Scale and Mental Health Symptoms

Background

Invisibility is a microaggression rooted in gendered racial oppression where experiences, voice, and feelings are silenced and invalidated. Little is known about the myriad ways Black girls experience gendered racism in schools, more specifically, invisibility. Invisibility for Black girls’ is understood as perceptions that their experiences, voice, and feelings are silenced or invalidated. Research has documented the myriad ways Black girls experience gendered racism in schools, yet there is no existing scale to measure the frequency that Black girls feel invisible in school settings. This study developed a measure based on a prior grounded theory study centering invisibility experienced by Black teenage girls in school.

Methods

The Black Girl Invisibility Scale (BGIS) was developed from a series of studies. In study 1, items were derived from a grounded theory study exploring 14 Black girls’ experiences of invisibility. Using the initial pool of developed BGIS items, study 2 consisted of a community-centered focus group of 6 Black girls who provided input on the selected items. In study 3, an exploratory factor analysis of 220 Black girls (M_age=16.2, SD= 1.17) used 11 items to sequentially estimate factor solutions with up to 3 factors. Solutions were evaluated using a factor loading threshold of .40 or higher, eigenvalues of 1 or greater, and parsimony. The resulting BGI scale was then examined in a factor analysis with the Black Girl Gendered Racism Scale (BGGRS), with 8 items and correlated with anxiety and depression scales.

Results

Preliminary findings in Table 1 of the exploratory factor analysis of BGIS indicate a two factor solution. Initial principal component analysis revealed one dominant factor (Eigenvalue = 6.87), accounting for 62.5% of the total variance, with the majority of items loading strongly (≥ .70), suggesting unidimensionality and internal consistency. Results shown in Table 2 indicate that BGI and BGGRS items factored separately and were strongly positively correlated at .74 (p < .001), demonstrating that invisibility is a unique form of gendered racism for Black girls. Invisibility items significantly associated and moderately correlated in expected ways with depression (r = .43, p < .001) and anxiety (r = .44, p < .001).

Conclusion

Findings support that the BGIS items strongly to moderately correlate with BGGS, depression, and anxiety. Results suggest feeling invisible in school are connected to mental health symptoms and to gendered racial discriminatory experiences, yet are distinct from other gendered racial treatment. The practice of invisibility in schools harms the development and well-being of Black girls. Invisibility is a multi-layered experience driven by gendered racial stereotypes where Black girls battle feeling invisible while simultaneously maintaining positive mental health. Although a confirmatory factor analysis is needed to validate the BGIS, results support that feeling invisible in school is significant and moderately associated with poorer mental health. Furthermore, this study indicates that social workers are needed to advocate for anti-racist and sexist practices in school environments through the development of interventions, support groups, and culturally relevant assessments.