The White Privilege Attitudes Scale: Development and initial validation.

Abstract

In this article, the authors describe 3 interrelated investigations among White undergraduate and graduatestudents that document the development and initial validation of the White Privilege Attitudes Scale(WPAS). The WPAS assesses the multidimensional nature of White privilege attitudes, reflectingaffective, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions. In Study 1 ( n 250), exploratory factor analysissuggested a 28-item scale with 4 factors as follows: (a) Willingness to Confront White Privilege, (b)Anticipated Costs of Addressing White Privilege, (c) White Privilege Awareness, and (d) White PrivilegeRemorse. In Study 2 ( n 251), confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the 4-factor model was abetter fit of the data compared with competing models. The authors also found support for convergentvalidity between scores on the WPAS factors and theoretically related measures. Study 3 ( n 40)documented test–retest reliability of each of the WPAS factors and nonsignificant associations withsocially desirable responding. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.Keywords: white privilege, racism, Whites, scale construction, race relations