White College Students' Attitudes Towards White Privilege
Poster Number
04
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Social Work
Faculty Mentor
Monique Constance-Huggins, Ph.D.
Abstract
Skin color continues to play a major role in determining social and economic outcomes in our society. Yet many students, particularly Whites, are unaware of, or deny its role. This study seeks to examine attitudes towards White privilege among 50 White students at a small liberal arts college in the South. All students were between ages 18 and 24 and the majority of them (86%) were females. Using the White Privilege Attitude Scale (Pinterits, Spanierman & Poteat, 2009), results show that with a mean score of 92, students are moderately aware of White privilege. A closer look at the sub-domains, however, reveals that students scored lowest on the anticipated cost of addressing White privilege. That is, the majority of students are worried or apprehensive about addressing White privilege. This observation suggests that while students may recognize that there are inequalities in society, many of them may not be motivated enough to take social action to address these inequalities. This result holds important implications for teaching on cultural diversity.
Course Assignment
SCWK 330 – Constance-Huggins
Start Date
21-4-2017 12:00 PM
White College Students' Attitudes Towards White Privilege
Rutledge
Skin color continues to play a major role in determining social and economic outcomes in our society. Yet many students, particularly Whites, are unaware of, or deny its role. This study seeks to examine attitudes towards White privilege among 50 White students at a small liberal arts college in the South. All students were between ages 18 and 24 and the majority of them (86%) were females. Using the White Privilege Attitude Scale (Pinterits, Spanierman & Poteat, 2009), results show that with a mean score of 92, students are moderately aware of White privilege. A closer look at the sub-domains, however, reveals that students scored lowest on the anticipated cost of addressing White privilege. That is, the majority of students are worried or apprehensive about addressing White privilege. This observation suggests that while students may recognize that there are inequalities in society, many of them may not be motivated enough to take social action to address these inequalities. This result holds important implications for teaching on cultural diversity.
