The role of attitudes toward White privilege and religious beliefs in predicting social justice interest and commitment

Acceptability of Racial Microaggressions From the Perspective of Speech-Language Pathology Students

PURPOSE

Implicit racial and ethnic biases have been documented across a variety of allied health professions; however, minimal research on this topic has been conducted within the field of speech-language pathology. The purpose of this study was to understand implicit racial and ethnic bias in speech-language pathology students by examining their perceptions and attitudes about the acceptability of racial and ethnic microaggressions. We also examined whether the student ratings varied by their racial and ethnic identity (White vs. people of color [POC]).

METHOD

Fifty-nine students (72% White, 28% POC) currently enrolled in a speech-language pathology program voluntarily completed the Acceptability of Racial Microaggressions Scale via an online Qualtrics survey.

RESULTS

Although 70% of the student ratings classified the microaggressive statements as unacceptable, 30% of their ratings classified the statements as either (a) acceptable or (b) neither acceptable nor unacceptable. Although both groups of students rated the majority of statements as unacceptable, students who self-identified as White rated more statements as acceptable than students who self-identified as POC.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings indicating relatively high rejection of microaggressive statements by speech-language pathology students are promising. However, responses were not uniform, and a nontrivial proportion of responses provided by speech-language pathology students reflected passivity toward or active endorsement of microaggressive statements.

Remembering where we're from: Community- and individual-level predictors of college students' White privilege awareness

Scholars in the field of community psychology have called for more research dedicated to examining White privilege as part of a system of White supremacy in the United States. One branch of this work focuses on awareness of White privilege, yet to date, this research has typically investigated awareness of White privilege at individual levels of analysis instead of also focusing on neighborhoods, schools, and other levels of analysis beyond the individual. In this study, we combine survey and U.S. Census data to explore both individual- and community-level predictors of White privilege awareness. With a sample of 1285 White college students, we found that gender, modern racism, social dominance orientation, and subjective socioeconomic status (SES) significantly predicted White privilege awareness. After accounting for these individual-level variables, we found that characteristics of students' hometowns (defined by zip code) predicted White privilege awareness. Specifically, greater income inequality was associated with higher White privilege awareness, while greater White racial homogeneity was marginally associated with lower White privilege awareness. There was a significant interaction between community-level White racial homogeneity and individual-level subjective SES, such that students with high subjective SES and low White racial homogeneity had the highest White privilege awareness. This study highlights the importance of examining different facets of ecological context in relation to White Americans' racial attitudes.

White People Problems? White Privilege Beliefs Predict Attitudes Toward Confederate Symbols

Building upon Intergroup Threat Theory and research on group-level empathy, we tested the relationship between White privilege beliefs and White Americans’ attitudes toward Confederate symbols. In three experiments, participants induced to think about White privilege exhibited more opposition to Confederate symbols, perceived less realistic threat to their group’s power/resources and symbolic threat to their group’s values/identity from the prospect of these symbols being removed, and (in Study 2) felt more empathetic toward racial/ethnic minorities who may view these symbols. Further, a meta-analytic path analysis across studies demonstrated that the effect of White privilege reminders on opposition to Confederate symbols was driven by reduced realistic and symbolic threat, as well as greater outgroup empathy.

Resistance, race, and subjectivity in congregation-based community organizing

Ideas of resistance have become common in media and political discourse in contemporary times where there is growing awareness of racial violence and xenophobia. Calls to "resist" and awakenings to public life prompt questions about the kind of citizenship being cultivated, the social meanings individuals reproduce and create through participation in "resistance," and the changing sense of their positions and agency as they act in the world. Here I examine the citizen-subject that comes into being through "resistance" to racial injustice, drawing on the case of Faith in Action (formerly PICO) and its development of a theological organizing framework, the Theology of Resistance. This study analyzes the discourses and content of two public data sources-The Prophetic Resistance Podcast series and news media about prophetic resistance within the organizing network. These sources offer a means to examine the negotiated nature of political selves that are created through processes that socialize and subjugate as well as through processes wherein subjects produce and sometimes transform social positions. Findings show that centering a racial analytic and prioritizing racial justice outcomes, shifts that were made within FIA, results in the cultivation of a political subject that is reflexive about internal and external subjugating forces, relational as it discards the armor of racial hierarchy and exclusion, and constructive as it creates conditions or contexts for new political subjects through prophetic action. This study contributes to the conceptual development of organizing as a mechanism to generate social change; specifically, it offers the lens of political subjectivity as a meaningful analytic to enrich understandings of this mechanism.

Interrogating Whiteness in Community Research and Action

Community psychology is expressly concerned with social justice. Such concern necessitates attention to race. Yet, nearly absent from the field's literature is explicit and critical attention to whiteness. Thus, community psychology's contribution to promoting social justice remains incomplete. In this article, we examine how a critical construction of whiteness can be useful for community research and action. After a brief history of the construction of whiteness in the United States, and a summary of key insights from critical whiteness studies, we present a scoping review of the nascent body of community psychology literature that addresses whiteness. That work implicates whiteness in the emergence of the field itself, frames whiteness as social location, problematizes whiteness, addresses White supremacy and institutional racism, interrogates White privilege, and employs whiteness as a theoretical standpoint. We conclude with three propositions for scholars to broker the relationship between community psychology and critical whiteness studies: (a) community psychology should become more critically conscious of whiteness, (b) community psychologists should promote critical awareness of the ways that whiteness operates as a complex system, and (c) greater critical awareness of whiteness should be applied to the development of multilevel interventions aimed at dismantling whiteness as a system of domination.

Intersectionality in quantitative research: A systematic review of its emergence and applications of theory and methods

BACKGROUND

Intersectionality is a theoretical framework rooted in the premise that human experience is jointly shaped by multiple social positions (e.g. race, gender), and cannot be adequately understood by considering social positions independently. Used widely in qualitative studies, its uptake in quantitative research has been more recent.

OBJECTIVES

To characterize quantitative research applications of intersectionality from 1989 to mid-2020, to evaluate basic integration of theoretical frameworks, and to identify innovative methods that could be applied to health research.

METHODS

Adhering to PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed articles indexed within Scopus, Medline, ProQuest Political Science and Public Administration, and PsycINFO. Original English-language quantitative or mixed-methods research or methods papers that explicitly applied intersectionality theoretical frameworks were included. Experimental studies on perception/stereotyping and measures development or validation studies were excluded. We extracted data related to publication, study design, quantitative methods, and application of intersectionality.

RESULTS

707 articles (671 applied studies, 25 methods-only papers, 11 methods plus application) met inclusion criteria. Articles were published in journals across a range of disciplines, most commonly psychology, sociology, and medical/life sciences; 40.8% studied a health-related outcome. Results supported concerns among intersectionality scholars that core theoretical tenets are often lost or misinterpreted in quantitative research; about one in four applied articles (26.9%) failed to define intersectionality, while one in six (17.5%) included intersectional position components not reflective of social power. Quantitative methods were simplistic (most often regression with interactions, cross-classified variables, or stratification) and were often misapplied or misinterpreted. Several novel methods were identified.

CONCLUSIONS

Intersectionality is frequently misunderstood when bridging theory into quantitative methodology. Further work is required to (1) ensure researchers understand key features that define quantitative intersectionality analyses, (2) improve reporting practices for intersectional analyses, and (3) develop and adapt quantitative methods.

Why Aren't We Paying Attention? Religion and Politics in Everyday Life

The sociology of contemporary religious behavior is vital to understanding a whole range of other social and political issues. The current deep division in contemporary American political and social life tracks the deep ideological divide between white conservative Christians and others (both white and nonwhite) so closely that it is almost impossible to intellectually suggest there is no relationship between the two. Contemporary sociology has assumed that American institutions (if not individuals) have become so secular that they are shielded from religious practices, in favor of organizing logics that are scientific, technical, and organizational in nature. What most sociologists missed were the roots of contemporary backlash against technocratic regimes in the white suburbs and small towns of America where conservative religious affiliations became aligned with a profoundly nativist, anti-intellectual populism.

Decolonizing Mental Health Services for Indigenous Clients: A Training Program for Mental Health Professionals

Culturally appropriate mental health services are essential for Indigenous people who suffer the greatest mental health disparities of any ethnic group in the U.S. However, few mental health professionals receive training to work with this population. To fill this gap, a 90-minute training was created to increase knowledge of and empathy for Indigenous people and culture and therefore, improve mental health services for Indigenous patients. This training is grounded in cultural competency, cultural humility, and decolonialism. The training is presented here for mental health professionals, agencies, and administrators to use as a guide. The training aims to increase knowledge, awareness, and skills and has been implemented in a variety of settings receiving positive feedback from participants and administrators.

Do Stereotypical Media Representations Influence White Individuals’ Perceptions of American Indians?

In this study, we examined exposure to stereotypical movie portrayals of American Indians, motivations to respond without prejudice, and awareness of White privilege on racist attitudes. European American participants ( N = 232) were randomly assigned to watch stereotypical representations of American Indians or control videos. Hierarchical regression results revealed that higher internal motivations to respond without prejudice and awareness were associated with lower levels of racist attitudes. Higher external motivations to respond without prejudice were associated with higher levels of modern racist attitudes. For participants high in awareness, there was no significant difference in modern racist attitudes between the control and stereotype conditions. For participants low in awareness, those in the control condition reported lower modern racist attitudes than those in the stereotype condition. Results suggest awareness is an important predictor of lower racist attitudes but needs to be reconceptualized within the counseling literature. Social justice implications and limitations are discussed.

Complicating Counterspaces: Intersectionality and the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival

The counterspaces framework articulated by Case and Hunter (2012), follows from community psychology's long-standing interest in the potential for settings to promote well-being and liberatory responses to oppression. This framework proposes that certain settings (i.e., "counterspaces") facilitate a specific set of processes that promote the well-being of marginalized groups. We argue that an intersectional analysis is crucial to understand whether and how counterspaces achieve these goals. We draw from literature on safe spaces and present a case study of the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival (Michfest) to illustrate the value of an intersectional analysis and explore how these processes operate. Based on 20 in-person interviews, 23 responses to an online survey, and ethnographic field notes, we show how Michfest was characterized by a particular intersection of identities at the setting level, and intersectional diversity complicated experiences at the individual level. Moreover, intersectional identities provided opportunities for dialogue and change at the setting level, including the creation of counterspaces within counterspaces. Overall, we demonstrate the need to attend to intersectionality in counterspaces, and more broadly in how we conceptualize settings in community psychology.