Abstract
Adolescence is a period when many youth are subjected to close scrutiny by peers. Acting white is one of the most negative accusations one African American adolescent can hurl at another. The accusation has been documented as early as elementary school; however, the research indicates it is most salient and first likely to occur during early adolescence. In this paper, the assessment of adolescents’ experience of the acting white accusation is sought. A series of studies are presented that explore both qualitative and quantitative approaches to assessing the acting white accusation wherein the qualitative data and findings guide the formation of a quantitative assessment of the acting white accusation experience. Based on the results, a mixed methods approach is recommended to facilitate further understanding of the accusation.
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Notes
The summary of these MANOVAs may be obtained by contacting the authors.
The number of scores to be analyzed will vary between each of the three contexts (life, year, bother) due to incomplete responses (e.g., omitted response on an item on that portion of the questionnaire). Similarly, dependent upon the variables being examined, the number of scores will vary due to incomplete data for that variable (e.g., not all participants indicated their age and/or gender).
The complete factor analyses results may be obtained by contacting the authors.
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This work was supported in part by Grant #0236697 from the National Science Foundation and a Faculty Fellowship award from the Kent State University Applied Psychology Center.
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Neal-Barnett, A., Stadulis, R., Singer, N. et al. Assessing the Effects of Experiencing the Acting White Accusation. Urban Rev 42, 102–122 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-009-0130-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-009-0130-5