Measuring White Fragility

Terrence Hill, Andrew Mannheimer, J. Micah Roos

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: We propose and develop novel survey questions and quantitative summary indices of White fragility. Methods: The data come from the 2018 Survey of White Fragility, a longitudinal convenience sample of 279 non-Hispanic white undergraduate students aged 18 and over taking courses at two large public universities in the southeastern and southwestern United States. Results: Factor analyses revealed two latent factors. The first factor—Remorse Fragility—was defined by feeling sad, guilty, and, to a lesser extent, angry in the context of discussions related to racism, race-based discrimination, and white privilege. The second factor—Depletion Fragility—was defined by feeling drained, exhausted, unsafe, and, to a lesser extent, attacked and confused in the same contexts. Additional analyses supported the reliability and validity of our indices. Conclusion: More research is needed to establish measures of White Fragility to inform interventions that support critical discussions of whiteness and the racist structures of society.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1812-1829
Number of pages18
JournalSocial Science Quarterly
Volume102
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2021

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Social Sciences

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