Abstract
Purpose. This dissertation evaluated the construct validity of the WRIAS, the primary measure of the White Racial Identity Development model, and the ORAS, the measure of the White Racial Consciousness model, using archival data collected from White, low-income, clinical outpatients. Method. A series of confirmatory factor analyses were performed to examine the construct validity of the WRIAS and ORAS subscales using data from a sample of 135 White adult mental health consumers (61 male and 74 female, M = 42.2 years, SD = 8.88). Variables included the five subscales of the WRIAS (contact, disintegration, reintegration, pseudo-independence, and autonomy), and the six subscales of the ORAS (dependent, dissonant, avoidant, conflictive, dominative/integrative, and reactive). Results. Fit indices suggested that in order to achieve model fit, the disintegration and reintegration subscales of the WRIAS be removed from the model. Removing these two subscales resulted in an adequate model fit, x2 (21) = 56.11, p = .000, GFI = .92, CFI = .92, RMSEA = .11 (90% CI = .07–.15), AIC = 104.11, ECVI = .78. Results also indicated discriminant validity ( r = .02) between the scales, suggesting no overlap in construct measurement. Discussion. Results suggested that White racial identity and White racial consciousness may be tapping into two different, but equally important constructs with White low-income mental health consumers. This research provided evidence that these measures are likely generalizable to low income mental health consumers. Further research is needed to assess the degree to which these constructs affect treatment outcomes in White adult mental health consumers.