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Color-Blind Racial Attitudes among Social Work Students: Exploration of Individual and Social Network Correlates

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Title: Color-Blind Racial Attitudes among Social Work Students: Exploration of Individual and Social Network Correlates
Language: English
Authors: Danforth, Laura, Hsu, Hsun Ta, Miller, John W.
Source: Journal of Social Work Education. 2020 56(3):412-427.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 16
Publication Date: 2020
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Racial Attitudes, Student Attitudes, College Students, Social Work, White Students, Social Networks, Attitude Measures, Racial Bias, Age Differences, Individual Characteristics, Positive Attitudes, Sexual Orientation
DOI: 10.1080/10437797.2019.1661910
ISSN: 1043-7797
Abstract: Racial attitudes can be shaped by personal attributes and social network properties. Literature on White social work students' racial attitudes remains scarce. The purposes of this study are to explore racial attitudes among social work students and identify personal and social network correlates of such attitudes. One hundred and sixty-three White social work students in a major Midwest public university were recruited via social work electronic mailing list to complete an anonymous online survey measuring personal-level characteristics (e.g., demographic information and racial attitudes as measured by the color-blind racial attitude scale) and social network composition (e.g., information regarding network diversity). Descriptive analysis and linear regression models were conducted for the study. Social work students demonstrated moderately low levels of color-blind racial attitudes. Age was positively associated with unawareness of institutional and blatant racism. Identifying as politically liberal was associated with lower unawareness of racial privilege, institutional racism, and blatant racism. Having more social network members to talk to about topics related to race and ethnicity was associated with lower unawareness of blatant racism. Being familiar with a campus antidiscrimination protest was negatively associated with unawareness of racial privilege and blatant racism. Implications for social work educators are discussed.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2020
Accession Number: EJ1263685
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0144871796;swe01jul.20;2020Aug03.03:03;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0144871796-1">Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Among Social Work Students: Exploration of Individual and Social Network Correlates </title> <p>Racial attitudes can be shaped by personal attributes and social network properties. Literature on White social work students' racial attitudes remains scarce. The purposes of this study are to explore racial attitudes among social work students and identify personal and social network correlates of such attitudes. One hundred and sixty-three White social work students in a major Midwest public university were recruited via social work electronic mailing list to complete an anonymous online survey measuring personal-level characteristics (e.g., demographic information and racial attitudes as measured by the color-blind racial attitude scale) and social network composition (e.g., information regarding network diversity). Descriptive analysis and linear regression models were conducted for the study. Social work students demonstrated moderately low levels of color-blind racial attitudes. Age was positively associated with unawareness of institutional and blatant racism. Identifying as politically liberal was associated with lower unawareness of racial privilege, institutional racism, and blatant racism. Having more social network members to talk to about topics related to race and ethnicity was associated with lower unawareness of blatant racism. Being familiar with a campus antidiscrimination protest was negatively associated with unawareness of racial privilege and blatant racism. Implications for social work educators are discussed.</p> <p>Social workers (85% of whom are White) (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], [<reflink idref="bib56" id="ref1">56</reflink>]) are expected to challenge racial and ethnic prejudice and discrimination on individual and systemic levels (Loya, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref2">48</reflink>]). However, White social workers may possess <emph>color-blind racial attitudes</emph> (Neville, Lilly, Lee, & Browne, [<reflink idref="bib59" id="ref3">59</reflink>]), a modern form of racism that involves power evasion, or denying that racism exists by emphasizing the belief that everyone has the same opportunities. Individuals exhibit color-blind racial attitudes by engaging in power-evasion in three major ways: denying or minimizing blatant forms of racism (e.g., "racism is not a major issue in American society"), denying or minimizing institutional racism (e.g., "everyone has an equal chance to succeed in society"), and denying or minimizing racial privilege (e.g., "racism against Whites is a major problem in society") (Neville, Awad, Brooks, Flores, & Bluemel, [<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref4">58</reflink>], p. 457). For Whites specifically, elements of color-blind racial attitudes include racial anger and fear, belief in a just world, White social dominance, lower cultural empathy toward people of color, and lower levels of multicultural competency (Neville et al., [<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref5">58</reflink>]). These types of attitudes provide a framework from which White social workers may be able to ignore racism, resulting in the internalized belief that race does not affect individuals' lived experiences (Neville et al., [<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref6">58</reflink>]; Neville, Worthington, & Spanierman, [<reflink idref="bib61" id="ref7">61</reflink>]). Maintaining color-blind racial attitudes impairs White social workers' relationships with racially marginalized clients and undermines client well-being, as such power-evasive attitudes are linked to sustained racial prejudice and endorsement of racially discriminatory behavior (Banks, [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref8">5</reflink>]; Carr, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref9">13</reflink>]; Neville et al., [<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref10">58</reflink>]). It is critical to ensure that social work students possess positive racial attitudes, as they are expected to competently work with individuals with diverse racial backgrounds upon entering the field. However, the potential intra- and interpersonal factors associated with social work students' color-blind racial attitudes remain unclear.</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-2">Literature review</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0144871796-3">Racial/ethnic attitudes among social work students</hd> <p>Studies have found that social work students generally possess positive perceptions of racial minorities and are more racially tolerant than students in other majors (Davis & Proctor, [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref11">21</reflink>]; Lo, Cheng, & Smith, [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref12">45</reflink>]). These findings are not surprising, as social work students are expected to fare better on these measures than students in other disciplines (Loya, [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref13">47</reflink>]), namely because social work training emphasizes social justice, culturally sensitive practice, and cultural competence (Council on Social Work Education [CSWE], [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref14">15</reflink>]). However, color-blind racial attitudes may still exist among social work students. For example, despite students reporting overall positive attitudes toward African Americans, Lo et al. ([<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref15">45</reflink>]) found that some social work students assume this group is less intelligent and less industrious than White individuals, specifically demonstrating continued racial stereotyping (an element of color-blind racism). Davis and Proctor ([<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref16">21</reflink>]) also identified such a phenomena, as White students reported that poor outcomes for Black individuals were caused by factors within their personal control (i.e., their own behavior) rather than external factors (i.e., harsh environment or institutional discrimination).</p> <p>Although previous studies have explored racial attitudes among White social work students, correlates associated with such attitudes (particularly color-blind racial attitudes) remain understudied. For example, despite Lo et al. ([<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref17">45</reflink>]) collecting demographic information about participants (e.g., age, gender, parents' education levels), whether these demographics affected students' racial attitudes was not explored. Davis and Proctor ([<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref18">21</reflink>]) conducted a preliminary investigation to determine if personal-level correlates (e.g., age, gender, and race) influenced racial attitudes, but they only conducted a bivariate analysis, which does not consider the multiple factors that potentially affect racial attitudes simultaneously. Further, neither of these studies explored how students' social network composition might influence racial attitudes and neither focused on <emph>White</emph> social work students, exclusively.</p> <p>Although it is not the focus of this study, it is important to note that color-blind racial attitudes can result in prejudicial expressions of social workers when interacting with non-White clients. For instance, research indicates that child welfare social workers are more likely to refer, investigate, and substantiate claims of child maltreatment for non-White families when compared to White families, even though child maltreatment occurs at similar rates across racial groups (Bay Area Social Services Consortium, [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref19">7</reflink>]; Cross, [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref20">20</reflink>]; Detlaff, [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref21">23</reflink>]; McRoy, [<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref22">52</reflink>]), and that these disproportionalities can be attributed in part to possible prejudicial or biased racial attitudes of child welfare workers (Detlaff, [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref23">23</reflink>]). Further, at least one other study exploring empathy levels of White social workers demonstrates that while workers report they are empathetic to people of color, their actions in the field suggest otherwise (Fitzgerald, [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref24">28</reflink>]). It is possible that higher levels of color-blind racial attitudes toward non-White populations influence how clients of color are treated, as one study demonstrates that child welfare workers who have higher levels of color-blind racial attitudes are more likely to blame children and their families for racial disproportionalities in said systems, while those who have lower levels of color-blind racial attitudes are more likely to identify systemic, macrolevel factors (i.e., maintain low levels of unawareness of institutional racism) in their understanding of overrepresentation in said systems (Marshall & Haight, [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref25">49</reflink>]). Although prejudicial attitudes (or correlates of such attitudes) of these workers were not explored exhaustively in these studies, it is important to note that race, gender, and additional personal-level correlates of child welfare workers may affect how they treat non-White clients, especially considering 85% of social workers are White females (Courtney, Barth, Berrick, & Park, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref26">17</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-4">Correlates of racial and ethnic attitudes</hd> <p>The Social Ecological Model (SEM; Stokols, [<reflink idref="bib73" id="ref27">73</reflink>]) provides a promising theoretical framework to explore correlates of racial or ethnic attitudes among social work students. Specifically, SEM states that individuals' behaviors and attitudes (Taylor & Mateyka, [<reflink idref="bib75" id="ref28">75</reflink>]) are shaped by individual-level characteristics (e.g., age, gender) as well as the social environment surrounding them. Social networks that individuals are embedded within are considered one's immediate social environment and therefore may influence their racial attitudes. Adopting the SEM framework to investigate malleable factors of White social work students' racial attitudes, including personal-level correlates and social network–level correlates, has implications for future social work curriculum development, as correlates that negatively affect racial attitudes can possibly be adjusted using strategies that promote behavior and social change.</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-5">Personal-level correlates of racial/ethnic attitudes</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0144871796-6">Enrollment status</hd> <p>Social work program enrollment status (e.g., MSW vs. BSW; online vs. in-seat; part time vs. full time) may be associated with color-blind racial attitudes (i.e., engaging in power evasion to emphasize equal opportunity and deny blatant and institutional racism and racial privilege) among social work students. For example, although Lo et al. ([<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref29">45</reflink>]) found that White BSWs were less accepting of outside groups and reported more social distance based on race than White MSWs, authors also found that there were very few differences between White BSWs and MSWs regarding their awareness of institutional discrimination, as both groups possessed an understanding of the role that social structures play in racial inequality. Yet respondents' support for governmental interference to improve social and economic positions of racial minorities did not achieve statistical significance, leaving mixed results regarding how enrollment status may affect color-blind racial attitudes. In addition, in two separate studies by Loya ([<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref30">47</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref31">48</reflink>]), it was found that BSW-level professionals exhibit higher levels of racial color-blindness than MSW-level professionals, particularly surrounding unawareness of their own racial privilege as well as awareness of blatant racial issues. Results from Loya's second study ([<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref32">48</reflink>]) indicated that, when compared to White MSW-level professionals, White BSW-level professionals felt less prepared to work with racially marginalized clients, were more likely to believe that equal opportunities already exist in the United States, and that programs aiming to create equal opportunity (e.g., affirmative action or busing) disadvantaged Whites. BSWs were also more likely to subscribe to negative stereotypes about racial minorities when compared to MSWs, all of which are elements of racial color-blindness (Neville et al., [<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref33">58</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-7">Age</hd> <p>There are few studies that examine how age affects racial attitudes of White social work students or professionals. Although not specifically investigated, Loya ([<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref34">47</reflink>]) suggested that increase in age may result in increased awareness of institutional racism, potentially due to older participants' presence during civil rights–era battles against Jim Crow laws. Conversely, Davis and Proctor ([<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref35">21</reflink>]) did <emph>not</emph> find age to be a significant predictor of social work students' awareness of systemic or structural factors' (i.e., institutional racism) influence on outcomes of racial minorities (a significant component of color-blind racism). Although there is literature suggesting that later-born (younger) Whites are more likely to attribute racial inequity to lack of motivation rather than institutional discrimination than older or earlier-born (older) Whites (Hunt, [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref36">37</reflink>]), literature also indicates that older individuals exhibit more pronounced symbolic racial prejudice (e.g., believing that disparate outcomes for racial minorities is due to laziness) than younger adults (Weigel & Howes, [<reflink idref="bib77" id="ref37">77</reflink>]). Results from these studies may indicate that while older individuals may have a greater awareness of institutional racism, younger social work students may be more in tune with blatant racial issues and demonstrate greater awareness of racial privilege. However, inconsistencies in findings call for further exploration.</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-8">Political ideology</hd> <p>Political ideology tends to directly influence racial attitudes (Sidanius & Pratto, [<reflink idref="bib70" id="ref38">70</reflink>]; Sniderman, Crosby, & Howell, [<reflink idref="bib72" id="ref39">72</reflink>]). While political liberalism prioritizes egalitarianism and radical change, political conservatism endorses rugged individualism, opposes extreme social, economic, legal, religious, or political change and resists modification of existing cultural order (Jost, Glaser, Kruglanski, & Sulloway, [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref40">39</reflink>]). Political conservatism also has a core dimension of acceptance of inequality, as individuals on the right often see society as unavoidably tiered (Bobbio, [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref41">9</reflink>]). Identifying as politically conservative is associated with increased racial prejudice, lower support for racial equality (Feldman & Huddy, [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref42">27</reflink>]; Glaser, [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref43">31</reflink>]; Kinder & Sears, [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref44">41</reflink>]; Weigel & Howes, [<reflink idref="bib77" id="ref45">77</reflink>]), and increased levels of social dominance orientation (e.g., general support for domination of one group over another; Worthington, Navarro, Loewy, & Hart, [<reflink idref="bib81" id="ref46">81</reflink>]), a major correlate of power-evasive color-blind racial attitudes.</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-9">Sexual orientation</hd> <p>At least one study demonstrates that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals possess more progressive racial attitudes than heterosexual individuals (Flores, [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref47">29</reflink>]), possibly due to a shared experience of social marginalization with people of color. However, other studies highlight significant racial discrimination and prejudice within LGB bars and organizations (e.g., denying entry to African Americans in clubs; exclusion from LGB community events; Diaz, Ayala, Bein, Henne, & Marin, [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref48">24</reflink>]; Han, [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref49">32</reflink>]) as well as racial discrimination or objectification in LGB relationships (Balsam, Molina, Beadnell, Simoni, & Walters, [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref50">4</reflink>]; Mays, Cochran, & Rhue, [<reflink idref="bib50" id="ref51">50</reflink>]; Wilson et al., [<reflink idref="bib80" id="ref52">80</reflink>]). Moreover, there are within-group differences of racial attitudes within the LGB community, as lesbians and gay men of color report higher occurrences of racial micro-aggressions and experiences of color-blind racial attitudes (e.g., being told by White LGB individuals that race does not matter or that people of all races have the same opportunities) from romantic partners than their bisexual counterparts (Balsam et al., [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref53">4</reflink>]). Other studies have demonstrated that sexual orientation, specifically, may not play an important role in determining racial attitudes, as other important variables (e.g., childhood socialization, political party affiliation, religious beliefs, or educational attainment) supersede sexuality in attitudinal influence regarding colorblindness (Miller & Glass, [<reflink idref="bib55" id="ref54">55</reflink>]; Schnaber, [<reflink idref="bib69" id="ref55">69</reflink>])</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-10">Social network–level correlates and racial/ethnic attitudes</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0144871796-11">Social network diversity</hd> <p>Individuals embedded within a racially diverse social network interact with people who share different racial backgrounds and gain exposure to various cultures and perspectives (Amir, [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref56">3</reflink>]; Cote & Erickson, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref57">14</reflink>]; Pettigrew, Tropp, Wagner, & Christ, [<reflink idref="bib64" id="ref58">64</reflink>]; Sigelman & Welch, [<reflink idref="bib71" id="ref59">71</reflink>]). With such exposure, individuals are less likely to view others as "different" or hold presumed stereotypes against others (Cote & Erickson, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref60">14</reflink>]). Therefore, having a more racially diverse network may be associated with increased positive attitudes toward people who may not share the same race or ethnicity. In fact, according to generalized contact hypothesis, individuals with more diversified social networks may develop more positive attitudes toward diverse populations (Cote & Erickson, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref61">14</reflink>]). Although authors did not investigate social network composition directly, Pauker, Carpinella, Meyers, Young, and Sanchez ([<reflink idref="bib63" id="ref62">63</reflink>]) suggested that existing within a racially diverse context may help reduce negative racial attitudes among White individuals.</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-12">Norms among social network</hd> <p>In addition to having social ties with people who are of a different racial or ethnic status, individuals' perceived norms (subjective norms) and behaviors within their social network (e.g., perceived racial attitudes or stereotypes held by social network peers) may influence their racial attitude development. Subjective norms have been identified as a strong predictor of individuals' value, beliefs, attitudes, and even behaviors across different age groups and populations (Paluck, [<reflink idref="bib62" id="ref63">62</reflink>]; Rutland, Cameron, Milne, & McGeorge, [<reflink idref="bib68" id="ref64">68</reflink>]). Individuals may subscribe to the norms that they perceived as a consensus or approved by their social network members. For example, Blachard, Crandall, Brigham, and Vaughn ([<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref65">8</reflink>]) found that White undergraduate female students in their study demonstrated increased tolerance of racism when their peers expressed negative racial views, while also showing less tolerance to racism when observing peers condemning racism. Therefore, how individuals perceive their social network members' attitudes toward racial minorities may shape their own.</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-13">Communication with social network members</hd> <p>Finally, less is known about the relationship between communication with social network members on issues regarding racism and individuals' personal racial attitudes. Previous literature on health promotion suggests that discussion of health issues (e.g., HIV prevention) may promote positive health behaviors and attitudes (e.g., safe sex practices) in individuals (Latkin, Forman, Knowlton, & Sherman, [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref66">43</reflink>].) Discussions with social network members regarding racism or discrimination are likely to affect individuals' racial attitudes. For example, discussing racism with social network members who are of a different racial or ethnic status may provide exposure to their peers' life experiences and thus help foster more tolerance and positive racial attitudes (Lopez, [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref67">46</reflink>]). Furthermore, communication with peers in general (no matter their race) may also help individuals increase awareness about racial injustice and develop positive attitudes toward people of other racial or ethnic backgrounds (Milem, [<reflink idref="bib53" id="ref68">53</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref69">54</reflink>]).</p> <p>As previously mentioned, there is limited understanding of White students' racial attitudes and potential factors associated with them. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to: (a) explore White social work BSW and MSW students' racial attitudes and (b) identify personal and social network correlates of said attitudes. Specifically, this study aims to understand malleable factors influencing racial attitudes in White social work students. Doing so will allow social work educators to develop specific curricula that will decrease color-blind racism among social work students.</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-14">Method</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0144871796-15">Sampling and data collection procedure</hd> <p>The present research used data from a pilot study investigating social network influences on social work students' attitudes toward diversity and inclusion. Data were collected from students enrolled in the BSW and MSW programs provided in a major public university in 2017. Considering the pilot nature of the original study, to maintain external validity, no further eligibility criteria other than enrolling in the social work programs were required. During the study period, a total of 274 students enrolled in the social work program and were eligible for the pilot study. E-mails briefly explaining the study were sent to eligible students through an internal social work program collective electronic mailing list (i.e., the researchers would not be able to identify any e-mail addresses of any specific student). To promote response rate, this study adopted strategies used in previous literature (Crawford et al., [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref70">19</reflink>]; Kittleson, [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref71">42</reflink>]) to send out multiple e-mail reminders highlighting the brevity and anonymity of the survey (i.e., the length of the survey would not exceed 20 minutes and that no identifiable information would be collected in the survey). In the original recruitment and reminder e-mails, a link to the anonymous online survey was attached. After clicking the attached link, participants were first directed to a consent page that detailed the study contents and allowed potential participants to provide their consent and proceed to the survey. In the consent form, it was highlighted again that the survey was anonymous and that there were no "right" or "wrong" answers. Such a design was used to avoid social desirability bias and allow students to respond honestly. Furthermore, the anonymous design of the study also prevents the researchers or others from connecting survey responses to a specific participant, hence preventing the break of confidentiality. Among the 266 social work students included in the electronic mailing list, a total of 192 students participated in this study (70% response rate); however, six participants did not fully complete the survey, so their data were removed. This yielded a final valid sample size of 186. Considering the purpose of the present study was to explore correlates of White students' attitudes toward race and ethnicity, only respondents who self-identified as White (<emph>n</emph>=163) were included. The average survey completion time was 19.45 minutes. To compensate for their time, at the end of the survey participants were directed to a separate webpage (not connected with the survey) where they could provide their e-mail address to receive a $15 electronic gift card.</p> <p>The online anonymous survey involved two major components: The first component focused on demographic characteristics (e.g., age, race/ethnicity, and political view) and attitudes toward racially marginalized populations. The second component covered participants' social network compositions. Following established procedures (Campbell & Lee, [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref72">12</reflink>]), a series of name generators were used to elicit social network properties. Specifically, participants were first asked to nominate seven individuals who were 18 years old or older and with whom they had interacted in the past 3 months. Prompts were also provided in the survey to help participants with social network members (i.e., alter) nomination. Such network name generation methods have been widely applied to different populations (e.g., homeless youths, substance users, and individuals residing in suburban areas) and in different countries (e.g., the United States, Canada, and Russia) via different formats (e.g., online and offline) to collect personal network data (Barman-Adhikari et al., [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref73">6</reflink>]; Espinoza, [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref74">26</reflink>]; Wellman & Hampton, [<reflink idref="bib78" id="ref75">78</reflink>]; Lee & Campbell, [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref76">44</reflink>]; Yakubovich, [<reflink idref="bib82" id="ref77">82</reflink>]). For each nominated alter, information regarding alter type (e.g., relative, program colleague, homebased peer), perceived alter characteristics (e.g., alter's attitude toward race/ethnicity), and respondents' interactions with each alter was collected. All respondents in this study were able to nominate seven alters with whom they had interacted in the past three months. This study was exempt by the Institution Review Board at the research university. All collected data were stored in a secure server in the university where the study was conducted.</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-16">Measures</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0144871796-17">Outcome variables</hd> <p>Racial attitudes were measured using the color-blind racial attitudes scale (CoBRAs; Neville et al., [<reflink idref="bib59" id="ref78">59</reflink>]). CoBRAs is a 20-item 6-point Likert scale measurement composed of three subscales that measure three domains of power-evasive color-blind racial attitudes: unawareness of racial privilege (RP; seven items), unawareness of institutional discrimination (ID; seven items), and unawareness of blatant racial issues (BRI; six items). These three racial attitude domains serve as the three outcomes of interest in this study. CoBRAs demonstrates high reliability (alpha coefficients range from 0.84 to 0.91) and construct validity (Neville et al., [<reflink idref="bib59" id="ref79">59</reflink>]). In the current study, a total score for each of the subscales was calculated (unawareness of RP and ID both range from 7 to 42, and unawareness of BRI ranges from 6 to 36), with lower scores indicating <emph>lower</emph> levels of color-blind racial attitudes.</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-18">Independent variables</hd> <p>As previously stated, the present study draws from SEM to investigate both individual and social network–level correlates of racial attitudes among White social work students.</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-19">Individual characteristics</hd> <p>Personal-level correlates of White social work students' racial attitudes included in the present study are: enrollment status, age, political ideology, and sexual orientation. Gender identification is not included as a potential racial attitude correlate due to the majority of respondents identifying as female. In fact, only six respondents (3.68%) self-identified as male and zero identified as other gender. However, male students were not excluded from the current study sample. Age is a continuous variable representing respondents' age.</p> <p>For participants' social work program enrollment status (e.g., full time vs. part time, traditional in-seat vs. online, and MSW vs. BSW), there was high correlation between full-time status and traditional in-seat enrollment. To avoid multicollinearity, a dichotomous variable was created with 1 representing participants enrolled as full-time or traditional in-seat students and 0 representing other. A separate dichotomous variable was also derived, with current MSW students coded as 1 and BSW students coded as 0. Political ideology was measured using a categorical variable including conservative, moderate, and liberal derived from respondents' answers to "How would you describe your political views?" (Response options included very conservative, conservative, moderate, liberal, and very liberal.) Sexual orientation is a dichotomous variable with 1 representing respondents' self-identification as heterosexual, while 0 represents other. Other than aforementioned individual-level correlates, the present study also included a dichotomous variable measuring participants' familiarity of a prominent on-campus, antiracial discrimination protest that took place in late 2015 (1=familiar with the protest; 0=not familiar with the protest). Many participants in the study were current or incoming students during the protest. Therefore, their familiarity with the protest likely has influence on their current racial attitudes.</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-20">Social network properties</hd> <p>As previously stated, participants were asked to nominate seven individuals aged 18 or above with whom they have interacted in the past 3 months. These nominated individuals constituted each participant's social network. Informed by previous literature on formation of racial attitudes (Cote & Erickson, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref80">14</reflink>]; Pauker et al., [<reflink idref="bib63" id="ref81">63</reflink>]; Rutland et al., [<reflink idref="bib68" id="ref82">68</reflink>]), the present study focused on White social work students' social network diversity (i.e., racial and ethnic composition of their social networks), perceived norms regarding racial and ethnic minorities within the networks, and discussions with their network members regarding race and ethnicity-related topics.</p> <p>To understand network racial and ethnic composition, respondents were asked to list each of their nominated alters' perceived race or ethnicity. A continuous variable representing the total number of nominated alters who were perceived by the participants as racial or ethnic minorities was derived. The higher the number (i.e., higher diversity within one's network), the more intergroup contact or exposure the respondents may have within their social network. To explore the perceived social norms regarding race and ethnicity, participants were asked to identify alters whom they perceived might hold negative attitudes toward people who may not share the same race or ethnicity background with said alters. A continuous variable representing the total number of alters who may hold negative attitudes toward individuals from different racial or ethnic backgrounds than their own was then derived (higher numbers indicate more prevalent norms of negative racial attitudes within the network in which a respondent is embedded). Finally, to investigate participants' discussion of race- and ethnicity-related issues with social network members, participants were asked to identify alters with whom they have talked about issues related to race and ethnicity. A continuous variable documenting the total number of alters with whom participants had discussed race- and ethnicity-related issues was derived.</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-21">Analysis</hd> <p>Linear regression models were conducted to investigate the association of personal and social network characteristics with each of the outcomes of interest (i.e., unawareness of racial privilege, unawareness of institutional racism, and unawareness of blatant racism) separately. Bivariate linear regression analyses were first conducted. Independent variables significantly associated with each of the outcomes of interest in bivariate analyses were then included in the final multivariate linear regression model of corresponding outcomes.</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-22">Results</hd> <p>Table 1 illustrates the demographics of participants. Consistent with previous literature, social work students who participated in the current study were predominantly in their 20s (73% were under 30 years old; result not shown in the table) and predominately self-identified as female (96%). Over 85% of the participants self-identified as heterosexual. Approximately 58% were full-time students or pursuing a social work degree in a traditional in-seat mechanism and 58% were familiar with the antidiscrimination protest in 2015. Over 57% of the participants identify their political view as liberal. Finally, consistent with previous literature exploring racial attitudes among social work students (Davis & Proctor, [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref83">21</reflink>]), students in the present study demonstrated overall low levels of color-blind racial attitudes based on moderately low scores observed in the outcome measurements.</p> <p>Table 1. White social work student personal-level characteristics and social network composition (n=163).</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead><tr><td>Variables</td><td>n</td><td>%</td><td>mean</td><td>SD</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><bold>Personal-level characteristics</bold></td><td /><td /><td /><td /></tr><tr><td>Age</td><td /><td /><td>27.47</td><td>(7.36)</td></tr><tr><td>Gender</td><td /><td /><td /><td /></tr><tr><td> Female</td><td>157</td><td>96.32</td><td /><td /></tr><tr><td> Male</td><td>6</td><td>3.68</td><td /><td /></tr><tr><td>Sexual orientation</td><td /><td /><td /><td /></tr><tr><td> Heterosexual</td><td>139</td><td>85.28</td><td /><td /></tr><tr><td> LGBTQ</td><td>24</td><td>14.72</td><td /><td /></tr><tr><td>Political view</td><td /><td /><td /><td /></tr><tr><td> Conservative</td><td>15</td><td>9.20</td><td /><td /></tr><tr><td> Moderate</td><td>54</td><td>33.13</td><td /><td /></tr><tr><td> Liberal</td><td>94</td><td>57.67</td><td /><td /></tr><tr><td>Social work program enrollment status</td><td /><td /><td /><td /></tr><tr><td> Full-time or traditional in-seat</td><td>105</td><td>64.42</td><td /><td /></tr><tr><td> Part-time or online</td><td>58</td><td>35.58</td><td /><td /></tr><tr><td> MSW</td><td>129</td><td>79.14</td><td /><td /></tr><tr><td> BSW</td><td>34</td><td>20.86</td><td /><td /></tr><tr><td>Familiar with recent on campus anti-discrimination protest</td><td>96</td><td>58.90</td><td /><td /></tr><tr><td>Racial attitudes</td><td /><td /><td /><td /></tr><tr><td> Unawareness of racial privilege</td><td /><td /><td>17.49</td><td>7.04</td></tr><tr><td> Unawareness of institutional racism</td><td /><td /><td>16.41</td><td>6.65</td></tr><tr><td> Unawareness of blatant racism</td><td /><td /><td>10.08</td><td>3.51</td></tr><tr><td><bold>Social network composition</bold></td><td /><td /><td /><td /></tr><tr><td>Number of network members who are racial/ethnic minority</td><td /><td /><td>0.72</td><td>0.96</td></tr><tr><td>Number of network members who may hold negative attitudes toward racial/ethnic minority</td><td /><td /><td>1.51</td><td>1.34</td></tr><tr><td>Number of social network members with whom talked about racism and discrimination</td><td /><td /><td>5.18</td><td>2.01</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>The bivariate analysis suggests that a consistent set of individual-level characteristics, including age, sexual orientation, enrolled as a full-time or in-seat student in the program, political ideology, and familiarity with the recent on-campus protest against discrimination, were found to be significantly associated with all three outcomes of interest. In terms of social network properties, having social network members with whom participants talked about topics related to race and ethnicity was found to be negatively associated with all outcomes. All the aforementioned significant variables were then included in the final models for each outcome separately.</p> <p>Table 2 presents the final multivariate linear regression results. For personal-level characteristics, holding a liberal political view compared to a conservative view was found to be negatively associated with all three outcomes, namely unawareness of racial privilege (β = −6.90; <emph>t</emph> = −4.13; <emph>p</emph> <.001), unawareness of institutional discrimination (β = −8.70; <emph>t</emph> = −5.73; <emph>p</emph> <.001), and unawareness of blatant racism (β = − 3.14; <emph>t</emph> = −3.73; <emph>p</emph> <.001). Self-identified as moderate in political view, compared to conservative, was found to be significantly associated with lower unawareness of institutional discrimination (β = −3.53; <emph>t</emph> = −2.25; <emph>p</emph> =.026). Being familiar with the on-campus antidiscrimination protest held in 2015 was negatively associated with unawareness of racial privilege (β = −3.40; <emph>t</emph> = −2.66; <emph>p</emph> =.009) and unawareness of blatant racism (β = −1.62; <emph>t</emph> = −2.56; <emph>p</emph> =.011). Finally, increase in age was found to be associated with moderate increase in unawareness of institutional discrimination and blatant racism (β = 0.17; <emph>t</emph> = 2.72; <emph>p</emph> =.007; β = 0.08; <emph>t</emph> = 2.11; <emph>p</emph> =.037). Program enrollment status (i.e., full time, part time, MSW, or BSW status) and sexual orientation were not related to racial attitudes. As for social network properties, having more social network members with whom participants talked about topics related to race and ethnicity was associated with lower unawareness of blatant racism (β = −0.35; <emph>t</emph> = −2.85; <emph>p</emph> =.005) but not with the other two outcomes.</p> <p>Table 2. Multivariate linear regression analyses of white social work students' racial attitudes.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead><tr><td /><td>Unaware of Racial Privilege</td><td>Unaware of Institutional Racism</td><td>Unaware of Blatant Racism</td></tr><tr><td /><td><italic>B</italic></td><td><italic>SE B</italic></td><td><italic>p</italic></td><td><italic>B</italic></td><td><italic>SE B</italic></td><td><italic>p</italic></td><td><italic>B</italic></td><td><italic>SE B</italic></td><td><italic>p</italic></td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><bold>Personal-level characteristics</bold></td><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /></tr><tr><td>Age</td><td>0.07</td><td>.07</td><td>0.30</td><td>0.17</td><td>0.06</td><td><0.01**</td><td>0.08</td><td>0.04</td><td>0.04*</td></tr><tr><td>Heterosexual</td><td>1.02</td><td>1.38</td><td>0.46</td><td>2.02</td><td>1.23</td><td>0.10</td><td>0.77</td><td>0.67</td><td>0.25</td></tr><tr><td>Full time or in-seat</td><td>−0.87</td><td>1.27</td><td>0.49</td><td>−0.19</td><td>1.17</td><td>0.87</td><td>0.03</td><td>0.64</td><td>0.96</td></tr><tr><td>Political view (Ref: Conservative)</td><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /></tr><tr><td>Moderate</td><td>−1.00</td><td>1.74</td><td>0.57</td><td>−3.53</td><td>1.57</td><td>0.03*</td><td>−1.34</td><td>0.86</td><td>0.12</td></tr><tr><td>Liberal</td><td>−6.90</td><td>1.67</td><td><0.001***</td><td>−8.70</td><td>1.52</td><td><0.001***</td><td>−3.14</td><td>0.84</td><td><0.001***</td></tr><tr><td>Familiar with recent on-campus antidiscrimination protest</td><td>−3.40</td><td>1.28</td><td><0.01**</td><td>−1.78</td><td>1.18</td><td>0.13</td><td>−1.62</td><td>0.64</td><td>0.01</td></tr><tr><td><bold>Social network composition</bold></td><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /><td /></tr><tr><td>Number of social network members with who talked about racism and discrimination</td><td>−0.44</td><td>0.24</td><td>0.07</td><td>−0.35</td><td>0.22</td><td>0.12</td><td>−0.35</td><td>0.12**</td><td><0.01**</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>1 <emph>Note</emph>. *<emph>p</emph><.05; **<emph>p</emph><.01; ***<emph>p</emph><.001</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-23">Discussion and implications</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0144871796-24">Students had overall positive racial attitudes</hd> <p>Our findings suggest that, when compared to the general population of college students, our students demonstrate moderately low levels of color-blind racial attitudes (Brigham, [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref84">11</reflink>]; Lo et al., [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref85">45</reflink>]). However, this finding was somewhat expected since we examined views of students who desire to be professional social workers. Average scores for each of the three subscales indicate that participants were moderately aware of all three domains of color-blind racism, as students scored an average of 17.49 out of 42 on the unawareness of racial privilege subscale, 16.41 out of 42 on unawareness of institutional discrimination, and a 10.08 out of 36 on unawareness of blatant racism, with lower scores indicating lower levels of <emph>un</emph>awareness (i.e., higher levels of awareness) of these constructs. Although the CoBRAs scale does not have specific thresholds of precise scores indicating low, moderate, and high levels of colorblind racial attitudes, higher scores indicate higher unawareness. These findings are particularly relevant for future social workers, as understanding the multidimensional types of racism (rather than viewing it as individual acts of prejudice; Bonilla-Silva & Dietrich, [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref86">10</reflink>]) is essential for quality social work practice (Loya, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref87">48</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-25">Students who self-identified as liberal had more positive racial attitudes than those who sel...</hd> <p>Consistent with previous studies (Feldman & Huddy, [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref88">27</reflink>]; Kinder & Sears, [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref89">41</reflink>]; Weigel & Howes, [<reflink idref="bib77" id="ref90">77</reflink>]), participants who self-identified as liberal had more positive racial attitudes than those who consider themselves conservative. Because social work is a profession that tends to attract people who hold liberal viewpoints (Hodge, [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref91">35</reflink>]; Ressler & Hodge, [<reflink idref="bib66" id="ref92">66</reflink>]), it was also not surprising that over half of the participants (<emph>n</emph>=94) identified as liberal. To facilitate student learning about issues related to race and ethnicity (e.g., institutional discrimination and racial privilege) while simultaneously respecting differing political ideologies that could influence racial attitudes, social work educators should utilize a combined set of approaches that encourage students to "critically reflect and think independently" (Rosenwald, Weiner, Simth-Osborne, & Smith, [<reflink idref="bib67" id="ref93">67</reflink>], p. 151) about their own political ideologies and how they affect the lived experiences of themselves and others rather than separating these ideologies from social work practice. These approaches could involve assignments or discussions that help students do the following: gain self-awareness about their own political ideologies; understand how to manage these ideologies when working with diverse groups; "recognize how political ideologies may oppress, marginalize, or alienate" racial minorities as well as "create or enhance power and privilege" for White individuals; and understand how policies that affect racial minorities are influenced by political ideology (Rosenwald et al., [<reflink idref="bib67" id="ref94">67</reflink>], p. 154).</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-26">Older students more likely to be unaware of institutional discrimination and blatant racial i...</hd> <p>Older participants were less aware of institutional discrimination when compared to younger students. One possible reason for this is that older participants (i.e., Generation X and Baby Boomers) may understand institutional discrimination as relic Jim Crow laws that have long been eradicated (e.g., separate but equal regulations) rather than the continued subjugation of non-White people through voter suppression, mass deportation of immigrants, mass incarceration, or police brutality (e.g., Laquan McDonald, a 17-year-old African American child who was fatally shot 16 times by police while walking away from an officer; Walter Scott, a 50-year-old African American man who was fatally shot in the back by police while fleeing a routine traffic stop) (Ali, Silva, & Chuck, [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref95">2</reflink>]; Vann & Ortiz, [<reflink idref="bib76" id="ref96">76</reflink>]). Younger participants (i.e., Millennials and Generation Z) may have a greater awareness of institutional discrimination, as their demographic has been increasingly involved in social justice movements and civil resistance surrounding racial oppression as well as increased willingness to share examples of this oppression (and resistance to it) on social media (Alexander, [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref97">1</reflink>]; Khan-Cullors, Garza & Tometi, [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref98">40</reflink>]). Moreover, younger participants may see institutional discrimination as the covert institutional practices disguised as egalitarianism and impartiality (e.g., racial disparity in mortgage lending), which allows them to be more aware and critical of the existing system.</p> <p>Older participants were also less aware of blatant racial issues than younger students. This also may be connected to age and what older participants consider to be blatant racism. For example, older participants who may have witnessed traditional forms of blatant racism (i.e., Ku Klux Klan marches or lynchings of racial minorities) may perceive that pervasive racial discrimination is now over. Younger participants, however, may be more in tune with current examples of blatant racism (e.g., the arrest of two Black men in Starbucks for merely waiting for their party), resulting in increased awareness that blatant racial issues still occur and are an important problem that society is facing currently.</p> <p>Social work educators must be sure to thoroughly cover all three components of color-blind racism in courses, focusing specifically on the creation and effects of institutional discrimination and the continued prevalence of blatant racism, particularly with older students, while at the same time taking their life experiences into consideration. This may involve explicitly discussing the development of policies that may disproportionately affect people of color (e.g., mass incarceration; the opportunity gap in K–12 and higher education, and decreasing amount of funding for the Office of Civil Rights).</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-27">Students with diversity experiences more aware of racial privilege and blatant racism</hd> <p>Although not a major independent variable of interest, students who were familiar with an on-campus social justice movement regarding diversity and inclusivity demonstrated more awareness of blatant racial issues and racial privilege than students who were not familiar with this movement. College environment directly influences students' racial attitudes (Hurtado, Milem, Clayton-Pederson, & Allen, [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref99">38</reflink>]; Neville, Poteat, Lewis, & Spanierman, [<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref100">60</reflink>]), and advocacy events that call attention to the importance of diversity and inclusivity can serve as opportunities for students' diversity experiences. At least two studies demonstrate that those who engage in diversity experiences (i.e., lectures, events, and movements on campus revolving around social justice) report lower levels of color-blind racism than students who do not (Lopez, [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref101">46</reflink>]; Neville et al., [<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref102">60</reflink>]). Moreover, such diversity experiences improve White students' personal growth and social development during college, enhances their science and technology skills, and increases their diversity competence (e.g., their knowledge about other cultures and ways of thinking; their ability to get along with different types of people; their ability to function as a member of a diverse team; Hu & Kuh, [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref103">36</reflink>]). It has also been found that students who have higher interest in and awareness of social justice issues report lower color-blind racial attitudes than those who do not—a particularly important finding for social workers (Neville et al., [<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref104">60</reflink>]).</p> <p>Although on-campus advocacy events may be controversial to some students, encouraging and expecting social work students to familiarize themselves with social advocacy movements regarding inclusivity and diversity is critical. For example, social work educators can organize and publicize community and campus-wide events that increase awareness of social justice movements and promote meaningful dialog outside of courses.</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-28">Sexual orientation and enrollment status did not affect racial attitudes</hd> <p>Enrollment status and sexual orientation may not have reached statistical significance because other variables (e.g., participants' age, political views, diversity experiences, and social network compositions) may have more influence on racial attitudes than these two factors, exclusively. This is especially true since participants' age, political views, and so on are likely extremely diverse across enrollment status. Further, as stated in the literature review, sexual orientation may not be an important factor in determining racial attitudes. It is possible that other variables such as family socialization (which influence political views, social network composition, etc.) influence attitudes more than sexual orientation, exclusively. It is also possible that due to a low percentage of our sample whom identified as a sexual minority (14%), it would be difficult to identify whether or not this variable truly influences attitudes of participants. Increasing the sample size and diversity related to sexual orientation of participants to determine a potential connection between sexual orientation and racial attitudes would be prudent.</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-29">Influence of social networks</hd> <p>Although discussions of race and ethnicity are often seen as "taboo" for White students (Tatum, [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref105">74</reflink>], p. 5), participants who have more social network members with whom they talked about these topics demonstrated increased awareness of blatant racial issues. This indicates that discussion within one's social network regarding topics surrounding race and ethnicity could potentially broaden exposure to race-related topics or increase individual reflections about race. As indicated by this finding, social work programs should facilitate communicative ties among students, staff, and faculty and foster opportunities for students to discuss race-related issues, both in and out of class. For example, social work educators could supplement class discussions with out-of-class activities or events that directly expose students to issues surrounding racial oppression. Rather than be silent observers, educators could require that students engage in conversation about these events (e.g., speak with someone who is involved in a community organization, coalition, or network combating racial oppression and find out more about their work) and strategies that promote racial justice (e.g., ask a coalition leader how they build organizational capacity for change) (National Gender and Equity Campaign, [<reflink idref="bib57" id="ref106">57</reflink>]).</p> <p>There was not a significant association between having social network members that participants could speak with about such issues and their awareness of racial privilege or institutional discrimination. Because discussing these topics is often considered risky or taboo among college educators as well as students (Harper & Hurtado, [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref107">33</reflink>]; Pollock, [<reflink idref="bib65" id="ref108">65</reflink>]), it is possible that participants' conversations about race or ethnicity-related matters revolve around easily identifiable, blatant, or overt racial issues rather than more covert or nebulous topics surrounding systemic oppression or racial privilege, as these topics are usually not emphasized within college classrooms (Dyson, [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref109">25</reflink>]; West, [<reflink idref="bib79" id="ref110">79</reflink>]). This finding is supported by Racial Identity Development theory (Helms, [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref111">34</reflink>]), as White individuals attempting to explore the effect of racism on racial minorities (and themselves) at times lack awareness of institutional discrimination and racial privilege and often see racism as "individual acts of meanness," rather than larger oppressive systems (Mcintosh, [<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref112">51</reflink>], p. 10).</p> <p>Contradictory to exposure theory (Cote & Erickson, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref113">14</reflink>]), the current study failed to identify significant association between racial diversity within participants' social networks and their own racial attitudes. This may be due to the racial homogeneity within said social networks, as participants reported, on average, that there was less than one person of color (mean=0.72; <emph>SD</emph>=0.96) within each of their networks. Although there was no significant association between having more diverse social network members and participants' racial attitudes, it would be remiss of researchers to fail to recognize that other studies demonstrate that increased exposure to racial minorities results in more positive racial attitudes for White students (Hu & Kuh, [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref114">36</reflink>]; Lopez, [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref115">46</reflink>]; Neville et al., [<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref116">60</reflink>]).</p> <p>Although not the focus of this study, it is important to acknowledge the lack of racial diversity within participants' social networks as well as how social work educators may unwittingly be responsible for the lack of exposure to racial and ethnic minorities that students receive. In many social work programs in the United States, it is possible for students to complete their entire program of study, be it BSW, MSW, or PhD, without taking any courses from a faculty member of color. From a macro perspective, social work can help alleviate this problem by continuing to find creative ways to increase the number of racially and ethnically diverse faculty who can teach and lead programs. Recruiting and retaining students of color in social work programs, especially in predominately White institutions, could also be prioritized.</p> <p>Finally, there was no significant association between <emph>perceived</emph> social network members' racial attitudes and participants' personal racial attitudes. It is possible that participants' actual <emph>interactions</emph> with their social network members (e.g., discussion regarding racial and ethnic issues) shape their own racial attitudes rather than their perceived network members' racial attitudes. Future research should focus on investigating subjective network norms and how various modes of interactions with social network members may affect White social work students' racial attitudes.</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-30">Strengths and limitations</hd> <p>The ability to better understand multivariate relationships between different personal level and social network correlates is a definite strength of the study. However, the overall positive response rate from students may indicate social desirability affects (Davis & Proctor, [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref117">21</reflink>]). In addition, this study was cross-sectional in design and thus temporal order (or what factors changed attitudes over time) could not be determined. For example, although it was determined that White students who discuss issues surrounding race and ethnicity with their social network have higher awareness of blatant racial issues, researchers are not aware if this correlate affected racial attitudes over time. In addition, as compared to other independent variables (e.g., political views), the association between discussion with social network members and racial attitudes is not as prominent. Such findings might be the result of us limiting the number of social network members each participant could nominate, which prevented us from capturing the variance of their network members. Further research that allows social work students to nominate a larger number of their social network peers may be warranted.</p> <p>Specific individual- and social network–level correlates explored in this study were identified based on what previous literature stated about their effects on racial attitudes. However, there are likely other individual and social network correlates that may influence racial attitudes, yet are currently understudied and have not yet been identified. For example, although previous literature demonstrates that gender identification is a potential racial attitude correlate (Craig, DeHart, Richeson, & Fiedorowicz, [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref118">18</reflink>]; Denson, Iyer, & Lickel, [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref119">22</reflink>]; Garcia & Van Soest, [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref120">30</reflink>]; Hunt, [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref121">37</reflink>]), it was not investigated due to limited number of male students in the social work program explored within the study. Considering social work students are likely to be female, future research on racial attitudes involving multiple social work programs so that a meaningful number of male or gender minority students are included may be warranted. Furthermore, other higher-level factors (e.g., program level and geographical level) may also be associated with social work students' racial attitudes, but were not explored in the current study. Nonetheless, this pilot study establishes a critical initial step for future research efforts in understanding social work students' racial attitudes. Finally, due to the pilot nature and small scale of this study, generalizability of the findings may be limited.</p> <p>Future research could improve on this limitation by collecting data concerning racial attitudes (and correlates of this) using a longitudinal design that collects data at several points, perhaps at the beginning of each year in college to increase knowledge about how racial attitudes are shaped over time as well as what individual- and social network–level correlates shape them at different points in their lives.</p> <hd id="AN0144871796-31">Conclusion</hd> <p>Informed by SEM, the purpose of the study was to examine how personal- and social network–level correlates distinctively affect White social work students' racial attitudes. Specific findings suggesting that having social network members with whom participants talked to about race and ethnicity is only associated with lower unawareness of blatant racism (and not unawareness of racial privilege or institutional discrimination) may indicate that White social work students are only discussing obvious or overt forms of racism (i.e., using a racial epithet) while ignoring or limiting their own understanding of covert racism (e.g., institutional discrimination) and its contributing factors (i.e., racial privilege).</p> <p>It is imperative that social work students familiarize themselves with how racism is manifested within laws and policies and further their understanding of racial privilege, as this knowledge contributes to positive racial attitudes (CSWE, [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref122">15</reflink>]; Neville et al., [<reflink idref="bib61" id="ref123">61</reflink>]; Yuen & Pardeck, [<reflink idref="bib83" id="ref124">83</reflink>]). This is particularly important for White social work students (who comprise 53% of the social work student body), as the percentage of racial minorities in the United States is increasing (CSWE, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref125">16</reflink>]; NASW, [<reflink idref="bib56" id="ref126">56</reflink>]).</p> <p>In closing, social work educators should clearly address, discuss, and unpack how institutional discrimination benefits White individuals as well as how blatant racism is manifested today, particularly with students who are older. Social work researchers should also critically examine implicit and explicit biases of educators in our own field that perhaps influence our discussions on racism in the classroom.</p> <p>These findings highlight the need for additional research, both qualitative and quantitative, examining the frequency and topics of student discussions on race, the racial attitudes of older social work students and professionals, and how social work educators and supervisors can ensure that they are appropriately preparing antiracist, competent social workers.</p> <ref id="AN0144871796-32"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref97" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Alexander, M. (2016). New Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York, NY : New Press.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" idref="ref95" type="bt">2</bibl> <bibtext> Ali, S. S., Silva, D., & Chuck, E. (2018, October 5). 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Miller , PhD, LMSW, is an associate professor and Chair of the Social Work Department at Benedict College.</p> </aug> <nolink nlid="nl1" bibid="bib56" firstref="ref1"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl2" bibid="bib48" firstref="ref2"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl3" bibid="bib59" firstref="ref3"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl4" bibid="bib58" firstref="ref4"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl5" bibid="bib61" firstref="ref7"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl6" bibid="bib13" firstref="ref9"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl7" bibid="bib21" firstref="ref11"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl8" bibid="bib45" firstref="ref12"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl9" bibid="bib47" firstref="ref13"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl10" bibid="bib15" firstref="ref14"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl11" bibid="bib20" firstref="ref20"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl12" bibid="bib23" firstref="ref21"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl13" bibid="bib52" firstref="ref22"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl14" bibid="bib28" firstref="ref24"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl15" bibid="bib49" firstref="ref25"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl16" bibid="bib17" firstref="ref26"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl17" bibid="bib73" firstref="ref27"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl18" bibid="bib75" firstref="ref28"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl19" bibid="bib37" firstref="ref36"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl20" bibid="bib77" firstref="ref37"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl21" bibid="bib70" firstref="ref38"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl22" bibid="bib72" firstref="ref39"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl23" bibid="bib39" firstref="ref40"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl24" bibid="bib27" firstref="ref42"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl25" bibid="bib31" firstref="ref43"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl26" bibid="bib41" firstref="ref44"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl27" bibid="bib81" firstref="ref46"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl28" bibid="bib29" firstref="ref47"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl29" bibid="bib24" firstref="ref48"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl30" bibid="bib32" firstref="ref49"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl31" bibid="bib50" firstref="ref51"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl32" bibid="bib80" firstref="ref52"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl33" bibid="bib55" firstref="ref54"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl34" bibid="bib69" firstref="ref55"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl35" bibid="bib14" firstref="ref57"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl36" bibid="bib64" firstref="ref58"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl37" bibid="bib71" firstref="ref59"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl38" bibid="bib63" firstref="ref62"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl39" bibid="bib62" firstref="ref63"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl40" bibid="bib68" firstref="ref64"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl41" bibid="bib43" firstref="ref66"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl42" bibid="bib46" firstref="ref67"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl43" bibid="bib53" firstref="ref68"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl44" bibid="bib54" firstref="ref69"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl45" bibid="bib19" firstref="ref70"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl46" bibid="bib42" firstref="ref71"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl47" bibid="bib12" firstref="ref72"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl48" bibid="bib26" firstref="ref74"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl49" bibid="bib78" firstref="ref75"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl50" bibid="bib44" firstref="ref76"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl51" bibid="bib82" firstref="ref77"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl52" bibid="bib11" firstref="ref84"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl53" bibid="bib10" firstref="ref86"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl54" bibid="bib35" firstref="ref91"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl55" bibid="bib66" firstref="ref92"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl56" bibid="bib67" firstref="ref93"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl57" bibid="bib76" firstref="ref96"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl58" bibid="bib40" firstref="ref98"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl59" bibid="bib38" firstref="ref99"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl60" bibid="bib60" firstref="ref100"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl61" bibid="bib36" firstref="ref103"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl62" bibid="bib74" firstref="ref105"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl63" bibid="bib57" firstref="ref106"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl64" bibid="bib33" firstref="ref107"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl65" bibid="bib65" firstref="ref108"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl66" bibid="bib25" firstref="ref109"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl67" bibid="bib79" firstref="ref110"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl68" bibid="bib34" firstref="ref111"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl69" bibid="bib51" firstref="ref112"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl70" bibid="bib18" firstref="ref118"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl71" bibid="bib22" firstref="ref119"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl72" bibid="bib30" firstref="ref120"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl73" bibid="bib83" firstref="ref124"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl74" bibid="bib16" firstref="ref125"></nolink>
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Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Color-Blind Racial Attitudes among Social Work Students: Exploration of Individual and Social Network Correlates
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Danforth%2C+Laura%22">Danforth, Laura</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hsu%2C+Hsun+Ta%22">Hsu, Hsun Ta</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Miller%2C+John+W%2E%22">Miller, John W.</searchLink>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Social+Work+Education%22"><i>Journal of Social Work Education</i></searchLink>. 2020 56(3):412-427.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 16
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2020
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Racial+Attitudes%22">Racial Attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Attitudes%22">Student Attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+Students%22">College Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Work%22">Social Work</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22White+Students%22">White Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Networks%22">Social Networks</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Attitude+Measures%22">Attitude Measures</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Racial+Bias%22">Racial Bias</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Age+Differences%22">Age Differences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Individual+Characteristics%22">Individual Characteristics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Positive+Attitudes%22">Positive Attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sexual+Orientation%22">Sexual Orientation</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1080/10437797.2019.1661910
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 1043-7797
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Racial attitudes can be shaped by personal attributes and social network properties. Literature on White social work students' racial attitudes remains scarce. The purposes of this study are to explore racial attitudes among social work students and identify personal and social network correlates of such attitudes. One hundred and sixty-three White social work students in a major Midwest public university were recruited via social work electronic mailing list to complete an anonymous online survey measuring personal-level characteristics (e.g., demographic information and racial attitudes as measured by the color-blind racial attitude scale) and social network composition (e.g., information regarding network diversity). Descriptive analysis and linear regression models were conducted for the study. Social work students demonstrated moderately low levels of color-blind racial attitudes. Age was positively associated with unawareness of institutional and blatant racism. Identifying as politically liberal was associated with lower unawareness of racial privilege, institutional racism, and blatant racism. Having more social network members to talk to about topics related to race and ethnicity was associated with lower unawareness of blatant racism. Being familiar with a campus antidiscrimination protest was negatively associated with unawareness of racial privilege and blatant racism. Implications for social work educators are discussed.
– Name: AbstractInfo
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  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2020
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1263685
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1263685
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  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/10437797.2019.1661910
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 16
        StartPage: 412
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Racial Attitudes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Attitudes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: College Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social Work
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: White Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social Networks
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Attitude Measures
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Racial Bias
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Age Differences
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Individual Characteristics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Positive Attitudes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sexual Orientation
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Color-Blind Racial Attitudes among Social Work Students: Exploration of Individual and Social Network Correlates
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            NameFull: Danforth, Laura
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            NameFull: Hsu, Hsun Ta
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            NameFull: Miller, John W.
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            – TitleFull: Journal of Social Work Education
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