Jenny Song and Cindy Miller-Perrin Colorblind Attitudes and Religious Fundamentalism as Predictors of Racial and General Campus Climate Perceptions Jenny Song and Cindy Miller-Perrin

Racial and General Campus Climate Religious Fundamentalism Racial and General Campus Climate Colorblind Attitudes Racial climate, which is defined as “the current perceptions and attitudes of faculty, staff, and students regarding issues of diversity on a campus” (Rankin & Reason, 2005, p. 7) is an important topic because it is significantly correlated with student learning outcomes and emotional well-being Colorblind Attitudes x Religious Fundamentalism

Through studying the influences of colorblind attitudes and religious fundamentalism on campus climate: Better understand racial differences in perceptions of campus climate Provide universities with tools to educate their students on creating a more racially aware campus. Purpose

Racial climate is defined as: “the current perceptions and attitudes of faculty, staff, and students regarding issues of diversity on a campus” (Rankin & Reason, 2005, p. 7) Correlated with student learning outcomes and emotional well-being Numerous studies demonstrate racial differences in perceptions of racial climate Negative campus climate for minority students (Chavous, 2005; Worthington, Navarro, Loewy, & Hart, 2008) Racial Climate

Impact of Negative Racial Climate Black Americans Asian Americans Psychological distress Self-doubt Frustration Isolation Higher drop out rate Low self-esteem Low mental health Fear of negative evaluation Social avoidance Higher drop out rate Higher collective self-esteem (Pieterse et al.,2012; Solorzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000,; Wei, Ku, & Liao., 2011). (Lee & Thai, 2015; Tawa, Suyemoto, & Roemer, 2012; Wei et al., 2011) A meta-analysis by Pieterse and colleagues (2012) found that 86% of the studies reviewed reported a It appears that a negative racial climate shaped by micro-aggressions in academic and social spaces seemed to (Solorzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000). These studies have demonstrated, however, that like Black students, Asian Americans students who struggled to adjust to their university’s environment due to their identities as minorities had negative perceptions of the university’s Wei et al., 2011). Low self-esteem, low mental health, fear of negative evaluation, and social avoidance (Lee & Thai, 2015), when perceiving structural racism against their race, which mitigates the negative effect of interpersonal racism on individual self-esteem (Tawa, Suyemoto, & Roemer, 2012). Impact of Negative Racial Climate

Predictors of Racial Climate: Colorblind Attitudes Colorblind attitudes are defined as the belief that “race should not and does not matter” (Neville, Lilly, Duran, Lee, & Browne, 2000). Studies show that White students had significantly more colorblind attitudes than students of color (Worthington et al., 2008). Predictors of Racial Climate: Colorblind Attitudes

Impact of Colorblind Attitudes White Students Avoid asking about race negatively correlated with: Perceived friendliness Frequency of eye contact Not seeing race morally superior to seeing race? Positive general and racial campus climate Students of Color Lower race related stress Negative evaluation of own race Self-critical Positive perception of general and racial climate (Norton, Sommers, Apfelbaum, Pura & Ariely, 2006; Wariko & Novais 2015; Worthington et al., 2008) Whites more colorblind (worthington) (Norton et al., 2006). Although White Americans adopt colorblind attitudes to appear unprejudiced, it is possible that these very attitudes may be negatively influencing their interactions with people of color. Positive general and racial campus climate (Worthington et al., 2008) In a qualitative study by Warikoo and de Novais (2015), it was found that half of the White students who were interviewed exhibited a colorblind ideology, reflecting their attitudes that (Neville et al., 2013; Worthington et al., 2008) Impact of Colorblind Attitudes

Predictors of Racial Climate: Religious Fundamentalism Religious fundamentalism is defined as: “closed-mindedness, the certainty that one’s religious beliefs are correct, and the belief that one has access to absolute truth” (Hunsberger & Jackson, 2005, p. 3), Predictor of racial prejudice and intolerance White Evangelicals Report discrimination against Whites (Brown, 2009; Mayrl & Saperstein, 2013) (Brown, 2009). against Whites in the South (Mayrl & Saperstein, 2013). Predictors of Racial Climate: Religious Fundamentalism

(a) There will be racial differences in the perceptions of racial and general campus climates, colorblind attitudes, and religious fundamentalism (b) Greater colorblind attitudes will predict a more positive perception of racial and general campus climate; (c) Greater religious fundamentalism will predict a more positive perception of racial and general campus climate; (d) Greater religious fundamentalism will predict greater colorblind attitudes; and (e) Religious fundamentalism will moderate the relationship between colorblind attitudes and perceptions of racial and general campus climate. Hypotheses

Procedure Participants 2,101 Pepperdine college students 55-item online survey emailed to entire student body One convocation credit incentive Response rate: 62% Debriefing form sent out through email 2,101 Pepperdine college students Gender: 37.9% male, 62% female, and 0.1% other. Average age=19.59 years (SD= 2.33). Racial/ethnic groups of interest: 3.4% Black, 18.7% Asian, 50.9% White. and relevant demographic characteristics such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, year in school, socioeconomic status, and religious affiliation will be assessed.

Measures: Racial Climate Racial Climate Scale for Undergraduate Students (Reid & Radhakrishnan, 2003) 8-item scale; 7-point response scale Negative interracial experiences on campus and perceptions of the administration’s efforts in creating a supportive and diverse campus environment Racial Experiences Subscale (α= .83) The University Perceptions Subscale (α= .81) RES- “I have experienced racial insensitivity from other students” UPS- “The university fosters respect for cultural differences” Measures: Racial Climate

Measures: General Climate General Campus Climate Scale for Undergraduate Students (Reid & Radhakrishnan, 2003) 3-item scale; 7-point response scale (α= .80) Students’ overall perception of the university environment “In general, I fit in with other students here” Measures: General Climate

Measures: Colorblind Attitudes Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (Neville et al,. 2000) 26-item; 5-point scale (α= .90) The extent of the belief that “race should not and does not matter” Unawareness of Racial Privilege Institutional Discrimination Blatant Racial Issues “Everyone who works hard, no matter what race they are, has an equal chance to become rich”

Measures: Religious Fundamentalism Revised Religious Fundamentalism Scale (Altemeyer & Hunsberger, 2004) 12-item scale; 9-point scale (α= .91) The extent to which one believes in the inerrancy and absoluteness of the teachings of one’s religion “Whenever science and sacred scripture conflict, science is probably right”

Results

Racial Differences in the Perceptions of Racial and General Campus Climates, Colorblind Attitudes, and Religious Fundamentalism 5 One-Way ANOVAs revealed significant racial differences on all continuous measures ---, ---, --- significant mean differences from group after post hoc analyses

Colorblind Attitudes as a Predictor of Campus Climate Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that colorblind attitudes significantly predicted all measures of racial and general campus climate perceptions after accounting for race and gender.

University Perceptions Racial Climate F= 110.26 (p < .001), R2ADJ= 0.21 β=0.312 (p < .001), ∆R2ADJ=0.085 Racial Experiences F= 96.54 (p < .001), R2ADJ= 0. 19 β=0.261 (p < .001), ∆R2ADJ= 0.059 Colorblind Attitudes β=0. 0.27(p < .001), ∆R2ADJ= 0.067 University Perceptions F= 53.13 (p < .001), R2ADJ= 0.11 Racial climate, which is defined as “the current perceptions and attitudes of faculty, staff, and students regarding issues of diversity on a campus” (Rankin & Reason, 2005, p. 7) is an important topic because it is significantly correlated with student learning outcomes and emotional well-being β=0.178 (p < .001), ∆R2ADJ= 0.029 General Climate F= 43.92 (p < .001), R2ADJ= 0.09

Religious Fundamentalism as a Predictor of Campus Climate Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that religious fundamentalism significantly predicted all measures of racial and general campus climate perceptions after accounting for race and gender.

Religious Fundamentalism University Perceptions Racial Climate F= 76.59 (p < .001), R2ADJ= 0.15 β=0.179 (p < .001), ∆R2ADJ=0.032 Racial Experiences F= 69.37 (p < .001), R2ADJ= 0. 14 β=0.122 (p < .001), ∆R2ADJ= 0.014 Religious Fundamentalism β=0. 0.212(p < .001), ∆R2ADJ= 0.045 University Perceptions F= 41.36 (p < .001), R2ADJ= 0.09 Racial climate, which is defined as “the current perceptions and attitudes of faculty, staff, and students regarding issues of diversity on a campus” (Rankin & Reason, 2005, p. 7) is an important topic because it is significantly correlated with student learning outcomes and emotional well-being β=0.23 (p < .001), ∆R2ADJ= 0.052 General Climate F= 56.22 (p < .001), R2ADJ= 0.12

Religious Fundamentalism as a Predictor of Colorblind Attitudes Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that religious fundamentalism significantly predicted colorblind attitudes after accounting for race and gender Colorblind Attitudes F= 79.09 (p < .001), R2ADJ= 0.18 Religious Fundamentalism β=0.179 (p < .001), ∆R2ADJ=0.037

Moderation Analysis Stage 1: Demographic Variables Stage 2: Predictor Variables Stage 3: Interaction Variable Perceptions of racial climate, 2 subscales, & general climate

Religious Fundamentalism as a Moderator Between Colorblind Attitudes and Perceptions of Campus Climate. Overall, the interaction between colorblind attitudes and religious fundamentalism did not predict racial or general campus climates. However, the final models predicting racial and general campus climates were significant: Racial climate: F= 85.64, df= 7, 2093, p< .001, R2ADJ = .22 Racial experiences: F= 81.97, df= 6, 2094, p< .001, R2ADJ = .19 University perceptions: F= 48.60, df= 7, 2093, p< .001, R2ADJ = .14 General climate: F= 46.74, df= 7, 2093, p< .001, R2ADJ = .13

Religious Fundamentalism as a Moderator Between Colorblind Attitudes and Perceptions of Campus Climate. In the final model: Colorblind attitudes significant predictor of racial climate, βCBS= .29, p < .001, racial experiences, βCBS= .26, p < .001, university perceptions, βCBS= .24, p < .001, and general campus climate, βCBS= .14, p < .001. Religious fundamentalism was a significant predictor of university perceptions, βRFS= .20, p < .05, and general campus climate βRFS= .24, p < .01.

Conclusions

Race and Campus Climate Consistent with previous research: Asian and Black students had more negative perceptions of racial and general campus climate than White students (Chavous, 2005; Rankin & Reason, 2005; Worthington et al., 2008) Contradiction to previous research (Reid and Radhakrishnan, 2003), No significant group difference in campus perceptions between Asian and Black students Race and Campus Climate

Colorblind Attitudes, Religious Fundamentalism, and Campus Climate Significant group differences in colorblind attitudes Whites most colorblind, then Asians, then Blacks Consistent with prior research (Worthington et al., 2008), colorblind attitudes predicted both racial and general campus climate No moderation effect. However: Religious fundamentalism predicted colorblind attitudes Religious fundamentalism predicted more positive university and general campus climate perceptions after accounting for colorblind attitudes Religious fundamentalism did NOT predict perceptions based on racial experiences Predicted students’ view of the administration’s efforts on diversity and general sense of belonging at the university. Colorblind Attitudes, Religious Fundamentalism, and Campus Climate

To tackle the issue of campus climate  consider discussing colorblind attitudes Dismissal of privilege and covert and overt racism in students may be contributing to the negative campus climate Interdependence among racial groups related to sense of community in Black students (Chavous, 2005) May be helpful to hold honest, community wide conversations about colorblind attitudes and solve the problem of colorblindness as a student body. Facilitate discussions on colorblind attitudes through a religious lens so as to give highly fundamentalist students a safe context for discussion. Implication