The Appropriated Racial Oppression Scale Development and Initial

206 Pages·2014·2.15 MB·English

The Appropriated Racial Oppression Scale Development and Initial Validation

Rebecca Rangel

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
under the Executive Committee
of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

2014
© 2014
Rebecca Rangel
All rights reserved
ABSTRACT

The Appropriated Racial Oppression Scale Development and Initial Validation

Rebecca Rangel

The present study examined appropriated racial oppression in a sample of 656 people of
color, for which no current validated measure exists. An exploratory factor analysis
revealed a 32-item, four-factor structure for this construct. A confirmatory factor analysis
resulted in a four-factor, 24-item model for appropriated racial oppression. Finally, path
analysis results indicated both predictive and criterion-related validity for the
Appropriated Racial Oppression Scale. Implications for clinical use and future directions
are discussed.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page
I. Introduction 1
II. Review of the Literature 10
III. Method and Results 67
IV. Discussion 109

Figures
1. The Measurement and Structural Models 128
2. Path Analysis 129

Tables
1. Frequencies and percentages of demographic variables of total 130
sample, studies one, two, and three.
2. Means, Standard Deviations, Ranges, and Reliability Coefficients for 133
the 32-item 4-Factor Solution for Study One
3. 4-Factor Correlation Matrix 134
4. Exploratory Principal Axis Analysis of Appropriated Racial 135
Oppression Scale
5. Exploratory Factor Analysis: 4-Factor Model (32 Items) 136
6. MANOVAs for Race and 32-item subscales 138
7. Model Fit Indices for all confirmatory factor analysis models 139
8. Conformitatory Factor Analysis Results: 24 items 140
9. Strength of Endorsement Profiles Groupings 141
10. Means, Standard Deviations, Ranges, Skew/Kurtosis, and Reliability 144
Coefficients for AOS, POCRIAS, CoBRAS, CSES, SRE, MHI,
MCSDa for Study Three (N=291)
11. Intercorrelations of all Variables (N = 291) 145
12. MANOVAs for Race and Instrument Subscales (N = 291) 146

REFERENCES 147

Appendix
A List of Instruments reviewed 164
B Sample Expert Panel Agreement Chart 165
C Email Invitation Letter 166
D Informed Consent and Participant’s Rights 167
E Demographic Questionnaire 169
F 70-item pool 170
G People of color Racial Identity Attitudes Scale (POCRIAS) 174
H Color-blind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS) 177
I Schedule of Racist Events (SRE) 179
J Collective Self-Esteem Scale (CSES) 183
K Mental Health Inventory (MHI) 184
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L Marlowe – Crowne Social Desirability Scale 185
M Debriefing Sheet 186
N Preliminary analyses 189
O Nested Models Results 191
P Reliability estimates for POCRIAS 195
Q Demographics for the excluded 55 Participants from all studies 196

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It is to the thanks of many people that I have been able to achieve this milestone
in my life. I have much respect and gratitude for the following individuals in my life and
everyone else who I am not able to mention but were also part of my journey.
First and foremost I’d like to sincerely thank my dissertation committee: Dr.
Robert T. Carter, Dr. Lawrence DeCarlo, Dr. Michael Y. Lau, Dr. Diana Puñales-
Morejon, and Dr. Robert E. Fullilove. Thank you for your time, effort, and patience in
offering me your guidance and wisdom with this project. To those who served as
“experts” during the development of the items of the scale by donating their time, effort
and expertise: Dr. Lisa A. Suzuki, Dr. Rockey R. Robbins, Dr. Suzette L. Speight, Dr.
Nancy M. Cha, Dr. Lisa Y. Flores, Dr. Silvia L. Mazzula, Dr. Michael Mobley, Dr.
Sidney Smith III, Dr. Jessica Forsyth, and Pei-Han Cheng, Thank You! I couldn't have
done it without all your wisdom and input.
To my advisor and dissertation sponsor, Dr. Robert T. Carter, thanks for always
providing me with your guidance and wisdom. Thank you for challenging me and
pushing me to learn beyond what I thought were my limitations. I appreciate you
showing me that regardless how grueling it can be, hard work does pays off—eventually.
Oh, and thanks for putting up with all my little anxieties right before a hearing and my
writer’s block—I know now to “just hand it in”! I am also thankful that our advisor—
advisee relationship does not stop here and I look forward to continuing and deepening
our friendship.
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I also could not have gotten through the doctoral program without the love,
support, and help from my teammates, friends, and colleagues. To my “buddy” Jill and to
those endless nights in Carterlab, “pizza parties,” 3am blizzards, studying for Comps, lost
in dissertation-land, and our infamous “Hello Dr. Lyons, why hello Dr. Rangel...” just to
convince ourselves that one day that BIG day would come…thanks buddy, no way I
could I have done it without you! To my teammates Nancy, Sinead, Sidney, Pei-Han,
Karima, Carrie, Veronica, Erin, Rudy, Roshnee, and Chelsea—for all those times we
stayed late in “Carterlab,” coding, running around before team, and trying to finish an
analysis—thank you! To my “big brother” and “big sister” of the program: Dave and
Lauren, thanks for all of your support, guidance, and reminding me to take care of
myself. Lastly, to Silvia and Kevin who have taken me under their wing in advising and
mentoring me—thank you, it is greatly appreciated!
A big sincere thank you to the program staff, especially Enrika Davis, for all the
times I came running into the office needing a signature, copies made, or anything really.
You made life that much easier when things in the program just didn’t make sense.
Likewise to all the other TC staff, especially the public safety officers who didn't blink an
eye when I was leaving/entering campus at 3 or 4 in the morning and were understanding
whenever I got locked out. To Gary Arden, who made the technical process go smoothly.
To my “clinical parents,” Dr. Santos Vales and Dr. Diana Puñales-Morejon. For
your clinical and professional wisdom, patience, support, guidance, and compassion—
thank you. I appreciate how much I have grown both professionally and personally
because of the both of you. A special thank you to Dr. Diana Morrobel for your
supervision and clinical guidance especially with the “tough” cases.
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There are countless more individuals along the way that have helped me in some
way to get to where I am. In particular, Mrs. Kathleen Ambrosy my high school AP
Psychology teacher, Dr. Susan Spaniol, my masters advisor in art therapy, Dr. Shaun
McNiff my masters thesis advisor, Cat Amsterdam my friend and art therapy advisor, and
my co-workers in Colorado at Berkley Gardens Elementary and Community Reach
Center. Thank you for all your energy and encouragement to apply to doctoral programs.
I couldn’t end without saying thank you to some of my closest friends. Mary,
thanks for always being there for me and for all the encouragement and advice you’ve
given me along the way. To Nito and Lana, my undergraduate buddies—to the countless
excursions, celebrations, and coffee outings, thanks for always being part of my life.
Finally, thank you to my family. Thank you for all of your support, love, and
compassion. Especially for all the sacrifices you all have made so that I can be where I
am today. Kiki, who regardless of what I am doing, is my biggest cheerleader, thank you
and to Mina, for always believing in me. Thank you to Mimi and Bello, their endless
love, support, and sacrifices. For Tío Pedro and his endless love and compassion. And
Mike, thank you for being a supportive brother and always watching out for me.
Mom—thank you for always believing in me. Thank you for teaching me to
always stand up for myself, to work hard, and to never give up. After seeing you go
through all the challenges both physical and emotional you have had to face, I hope to
one day be half as courageous and strong as you are. Mom, you are my hero. I would
never have gotten so far in life if it weren’t for you. Your support, wisdom, guidance, and
endless sacrifices have allowed me to attain this degree. Yet I know to you it’s not about
the degree itself but the journey and what I have learned on the way. Thanks Mom.
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To the Campón Family, for welcoming me into your family so warmly and
affectionately. I appreciate all your emotional support and encouragement throughout this
process. Thank you for everything. To our precious “Animal” whose furry orange face
accompanied me on those long days at the computer and comforted me when I became
overwhelmed. His insistence on walking over my laptop or sitting on my lap provided me
with the necessary breaks I needed to relax and rejuvenate. And I cannot forget Embers,
the cutest black lab mix, thanks for always guarding the house and being our protector.
Finally, to José—my best friend, my partner, and el amor de mi vida. Thank you
José for your unwavering and unconditional love, patience, support, and generous
understanding. Your endless patience was a relief especially with the dissertation process
and particularly with internship. You always were able to get me re-focused, to look at
the brighter side of things, and help me cultivate my creative spirit when I needed to.
Thank you for always believing in me and giving me that extra push to finish. You are
the kindest most generous person I know. I admire you and adore you. I simply could not
have done this without you and I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you.
Te amo por siempre.
R.R.

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DEDICATION

For my grandfather, Rosendo Expósito Lozano.

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