Presentation
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Introduction
I have been thinking about racism as a white person for about five years.
I put together a model that captures my understanding of relationships between emotions of racism and attitudes that may predict antiracist identity formation.
Here is my research.
Warning: Possible Discomfort Ahead
Is racism a problem for people of color to solve?
There’s a social stigma against talking about racism directly.
My research leans into that.
Origins of this Work
Is racism a problem for people of color to solve?
What is my responsibility as a white person in a racist society?
The Problem: Obstacles to Antiracist Action in the Counseling Field
The systems and structures of U.S. society continue to be oppressive to minorities while favoring those with privilege, including housing, employment, medical care (Braveman et al., 2022)
Counseling is not exempt from racism: Racist experiences are reported by practitioners of color at every level, including students, counselors, and counselor educators (Andrews, 2013; Branco & Bayne, 2020; Drinane et al., 2018; Green et al., 2023; Ieva et al., 2021; Liu et al., 2023; Shillingford et al., 2022; Vaishnav & Wester, 2023)
Unexamined bias from white-normative culture can harm clients and students of color, especially from white counselors, supervisors, and counselor educators (Mindrup et al., 2011)
This study examined potential obstacles to antiracist action in white women counselors.
Extra point
- Multicultural competence via the Multicultural and Social Justice Competencies [MSJCC; Ratts et al. (2016)] is not enough; they are not fully operationalized, and there is an application gap where they’re not being used (Ridley et al., 2021; Wilson et al., 2017)
Researcher Positionality
White cis gender middle class middle aged female Newly licensed Significant privilege
Terms & Definitions
| term | definition |
|---|---|
| everyday racism aka modern racism | A process in which socialized racist notions are integrated into everyday practices and thereby actualize and reinforce underlying racial and ethnic relations; familiar, repetitive, and part of the “normal” routine of everyday life (Essed, 1991) |
| color-blind racism | The conscious or unconscious justification of the unjust racial status quo where individuals deny, distort, or minimize the realities of racism, even when done from a well-meaning place of claiming that we are too sophisticated (or too liberal) to be racist, or that society is post-racial now (Bonilla-Silva, 2003; Neville et al., 2006) |
| nonracist | This term has been used differently by different scholars, sometimes to mean not racist (e.g., Helms, 1990), and sometimes to mean a color-blind racial attitude (“I don’t see race”) (e.g., R. T. Knowles & Hawkman, 2020); due to these double-meanings, this term is not used in the present research |
| whiteness | The ways that socialization into power for white people obscures their own view of that power (Helms, 2007); also, how oppressive white supremacy norms can be internalized for white people (Malott et al., 2015) |
| white racial affects | The reported negative emotional reactions in a white person when confronted with discourse that contains racialized content, especially involving recognition or reminder of unearned privilege; can include guilt, shame, anxiety, anger, frustration, etc. (Spanierman & Heppner, 2004; Grzanka et al., 2020) |
| white identity | A racial, cultural, and ethnic awareness or lack thereof held by a white individual based on role in society, power, and privilege (Helms, 1990); note that a white identity may or may not have elements of whiteness |
| identity development, e.g., racial identity, professional identity | As adapted from Helms (1990): The psychological implications of group membership, in particular the “belief systems that evolve in reaction to perceived differential [racial-]group membership” (p. 4) |
| antiracist identity | An internal, action-based stance of advocate focusing on changing social and institutional systems of oppression (Sue, 2015; Pieterse et al., 2016). antiracist self-efficacy |The feeling of being capable of making an impact on racism in society (Eschmann et al., 2023) |
Theoretical Frameworks: CRT & Critical Whiteness Studies
add picture of Kimberle Crenshaw
- “Race” is a social construct and is not biologically based (Smedley & Smedley, 2005)
- Even though “race” is not real, racism is (Bonilla-Silva, 2003; Smedley & Smedley, 2005)
- A tenet in Critical Race Theory is that race and racism are ubiquitous even when unacknowledged Delgado & Stefancic (2023)
- “Whiteness” is how race-based power is part of the conditioning of growing up as a white individual in a racially unjust society and Critical Whiteness Studies seeks to examine this in order to disrupt it (Frankenberg, 2001; Leonardo & Porter, 2010; Matias et al., 2016)
Theoretical Frameworks: Everyday Racism & White Racial Emotions
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People of color are subject to insults, putdowns, and offense in ways that are normalized, such as a white woman clutching her purse when a Black man walks by; being ignored by server in a restaurant; or the question “Where are you from?” which implies you do not belong here (Essed, 1991)
Stigma of being called racist -> “good white person” is defense against the guilt and shame of acknowledging unearned privilege (Sullivan, 2014)
White racial affects: A product of whiteness. The emotions of fear, guilt, anger generated in white people when confronted with race and the reality of racism (Grzanka et al., 2020; Spanierman & Heppner, 2004)
Examining whiteness through white racial affect may allow us to better understand interpersonal relations and in-group/out-group dynamics for white individuals interacting with individuals holding other racial identities; in other words, modern racism.
Theoretical Frameworks: Identity Development, Self-Efficacy
picture of Dr Helms
- White Racial Identity Model (WRID) first developed by Helms (1990) - how do white people become more aware of being white?
- Antiracist Identity in Counselors (Shand-Lubbers & Baden, 2023) - what are the conditions by which counselors may embrace a self-identity of being antiracist?
- Self-Efficacy theory (Bandura, 1986) - what makes us feel confident and capable of effectiveness in our actions and behaviors?
Statement of Purpose
Insert diagram here This study proposes a model that shows the interactions between white racial affect and antiracist self-efficacy in white women counselors.
Research Question
How do measures of white racial affect (comprised of white guilt, white fear, and white anger) and self-efficacy for antiracism relate to a measure of antiracist accountability in white women counselors in the U.S.?
A series of hypotheses were designed to test the relationships between these elements.
Review of the Literature
- Racialized Emotions: White Racial Affects
- “affects” are emotions that are displayed or detectable by others
- Identity Development Theories: White Identity, Professional Counseling Identities, Antiracist Identity
- Antiracist Self-Efficacy
Racialized Emotions: White Fear
- Anxiety of coming across as racist (Spanierman & Cabrera, 2015)
- Paranoia of the colonist who may be overtaken by the colonized: White people afraid of losing their social status and power (Spanierman & Cabrera, 2015)
- Aversion, distrust, discomfort, irrational sense of danger, fear of the other especially Black men (Conger et al., 2011; Spanierman & Heppner, 2004; Utsey et al., 2005)
Racialized Emotions: White Anger
Two different types: - White rage (not a focus of this study): Irritation, indignation, withdrawal into silence, and/or aggression due to feeling attacked when race is brought up (Boatright-Horowitz et al., 2012; DiAngelo, 2011) - White anger (termed “white empathy” by Spanierman & Heppner (2004) and renamed for the purpose of this study): Emotions of anger, sadness, being upset about or feeling helpless around racial topics and events, yet not directed at people of color
Racialized Emotions: White Guilt
Guilt and shame arising from awareness of being white in a racially unjust society (Spanierman & Heppner, 2004)
Complex emotion: - Guilt when unearned privileges from being white is recognized (Steele, 1990) or when made aware of implicit bias in making wrong assumptions about someone based on race (Fazio & Hilden, 2001) + Associated with shame: May cause a shut-down effect that discourages the white person from taking action (Fazio & Hilden, 2001) - Also associated with stronger endorsement of affirmative action policies to change systemic inequities (Iyer et al., 2003)
Identity Development Theories: White Identity & Antiracist Counseling Identity
White Racial Identity Development Helms’s WRID (1990) identified six statuses, or attitudes and beliefs about self and other, representing stages of acknowledgement of the white person’s position as a racial being in a racialized society Antiracist Identity Malott et al. (2021) examined antiracist identity in conjunction with the WRID Autonomous status, which is where the white-identified individual has awareness of their whiteness and of other racial identities, including power dynamics that accrue in society as a result of race
Identity Development Theories: Antiracist Counseling Identity
Shand-Lubbers & Baden (2023) created the Anti-Racist Counselor Identity model (ARCI) - Emotional response is critical to self-understanding and progression towards an antiracist identity - Includes “Awareness” and “Identity Integration” phases with specific emotional aspects - Identifies factors that limit development of Accountability, in the “Manifestation: Action” phase
Attributes of White Allies
Sue (2017) identified qualities that white psychologists and researchers who are aware of racial realities exhibit: - a sophisticated understanding of race and white privilege - ongoing reflection on personal racism - dedication to deploying one’s privilege to equity - acting to disrupt racism - collaborating and building coalitions with people of color - working to prevent the silencing of white allies
Warnings for Well-Intentioned White Allies
Spanierman et al. (2017) warned against missteps and challenges to allyship especially for white researchers: - white people being paternalistic towards people of color or acting as white saviors - behaviors that are performative and do not advance structural change - white people overlooking the realities of intersectionality - expressions of false empathy and an inaccurate understanding of lived experience of people of color - an overemphasis of white identity development without enough focus on systemic racism
Rationale
- Gender differences reported in experiences of the racial emotions (Spanierman et al., 2012)
- White women comprise the majority of the counseling field (Zippia, 2023) so understanding the enablers of and obstacles to antiracism can potentially support greater antiracist action throughout counseling
- White women counselors need to adopt an antiracist identity in order to interact from an antiracist critical consciousness with people of color (Freire, 2014)
There’s a lot of white women here in this room - we have opportunity to bring change.
Method
Study Design & Context
A descriptive non-experimental quantitative study to test a proposed model of relationships between 3 white racial affects (emotions of racism: white fear, white anger, white guilt) and antiracist self-efficacy (feeling confident and capable of acting as an antiracist), and antiracist accountability (taking responsibility for changing racism).
The study captured demographic information and used 5 instruments (questionnaires) to capture scores on the 5 variables for each respondent.
The study was created as an online survey for participants to complete anonymously and independently.
There was no intervention involved.
IRB approval of this design was obtained before data collection.
This project complied with: - Ethical principles defined for participant protections in the ACA Code of Ethics (American Counseling Association, 2014) Section G.1. Research Responsibilities. - Counselors for Social Justice Code of Ethics (Counselors for Social Justice, 2020) Section D: Research.
Memoing was used to capture researcher self-reflections and promote reflexivity, and to serve as a check on possible bias.
Two statisticians were consulted to review methods and results through the data validation and analysis stages of the study, and their feedback is incorporated.
Participants
The population to be studied was defined as white women counselors in the U.S., including counseling students, counselor trainees, pre-licensed counselors, practicing professional counselors, and counselor educators as long as they also now practice or in the past have practiced counseling under a state license.
Specifying that participants were born in and/or had lived in the U.S. for some time was intention because U.S. racism and racist beliefs and emotions may be different due to cultural conditioning (Feagin, 2020).
A sample of at least 60 participants was needed to meet the power requirements for linear regression.
Data Sources and Instrumentation
Demographics questions were asked about gender and racial identity, counseling identity, and other factors including socioeconomic status, education, years practicing, religion, and geography.
Three validated instruments were used, each with Likert-style responses: - Psychosocial Costs of Racism to Whites [PCRW; Spanierman & Heppner (2004)] with subscales to measure White Fear, White Empathy (called White Anger in this study), and White Guilt, with items such as “Sometimes I feel guilty about being white”, “I am distrustful of people of other races”, and “I am angry that racism exists” - Anti-Racism Efficacy Scale [A-RES; Eschmann et al. (2023)] to measure self-assessed self-efficacy as an antiracist - White Privilege Attitudes Scale [WPAS; Pinterits et al. (2009)] modified by substituting “racism” instead of “white privilege” in the wording of the items. Sample item: “I accept responsibility to change racism.”
Data Collection
Convenience sampling was used by sending the recruiting invitation out to a number of professional listservs.
A total of 149 responses was collected between January 4 and February 12, 2024.
Linear Regressions to Examine Relationships
Linear regression is a data analysis technique used to examine relationships in the data. The regression models looked at the scores on the surveys received to see if the attitudes and emotions influence antiracist accountability:
Regression Model 1
Outcome: Antiracist Accountability
Predictors: White anger, white guilt, white fear, antiracist self-efficacy
antiracist accountability = b01 + b1 (white anger) + b2 (white guilt) + b3 (white fear) + b4 (antiracist self-efficacy)
Regression Model 2
Outcome: Antiracist accountability
Predictors: Self-efficacy
antiracist accountability = b02 + b4 (antiracist self-efficacy)
Data Validation
After data collection, the participant answers were checked for completeness, for errors, and to determine if they met criteria to be included in the analysis. This was done by evaluating scatter plots of residuals and examining statistical measures about the sample.
The sample was evaluated to be sure it met the assumptions for linear modeling: - linearity and independence of variables: Pearsons correlations indicated variables not collinear with coefficients < .2 - normality of residuals using Shapiro-Wilk test which resulted in p-value = .24 indicating the sample came from a non-parametric population, however review of the residual plots in consultation with statistics experts determined that parametric analysis could still be appropriate; also see Williams et al. (2013) - heteroscedasticity checked using Breusch-Pagan test which showed error variance to be homoscedastic based on calculated p-value of .11. - independent observations as required for unbiased results: Each participant engaged independently and anonymously
Results
Demographic Information
A total of 64 observations were in the final sample of respondents who identified as white, female, and counselors.
None of the sample identified as transgender.
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