Measuring White Fragility

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.