Developing a Scale to Measure Internalization of Oppression Among Latinx Living in New York City
type: CreativeWork
description: This study created a valid scale of internalization of oppression experienced by Latinx students in New York City. This scale might be used by school counselors, college advisors, and clinicians who work to help Latinx clients. Internalization of oppression refers to the attitudes, beliefs and feelings that may develop among people who belong to populations placed in subordinate positions or devalued by the dominant populations in the societies in which they live. During the past hundred years, sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists, historians, and other social thinkers have theorized about the problems that people experience when the groups and categories they belong to are devalued by the mainstream cultures in which they live. This theoretical work has been followed by empirical efforts to develop measures of internalization of oppression among various populations including African Americans, Asian Americans, and members of LGBTQ+ populations. These measures are related to several aspects of psychological distress, particularly depression, among these populations. The work to develop such scales that are applicable to Latinx populations has been limited. METHODS A survey was administered to 387 students at two four-year colleges at the City University of New York who reported having at least one grandparent born in Latin America. Included in the survey were 30 items answered on a Likert scale measuring three aspects of internalization of oppression among Latinx populations. 1. The beliefs that Latinx people exhibit negative characteristics related to criminality, drug usage, intelligence, and work habits. 2. The beliefs that most Americans hold such opinions of Latinx people. 3. The negative feelings expressed by respondents toward being Latinx. The items that loaded highly in a principal components analysis were selected. When multiple items dealt with the same issue, they were eliminated. The scale comprised of the resulting items was analyzed for intern…
abstract: This study created a valid scale of internalization of oppression experienced by Latinx students in New York City. This scale might be used by school counselors, college advisors, and clinicians who work to help Latinx clients. Internalization of oppression refers to the attitudes, beliefs and feelings that may develop among people who belong to populations placed in subordinate positions or devalued by the dominant populations in the societies in which they live. During the past hundred years, sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists, historians, and other social thinkers have theorized about the problems that people experience when the groups and categories they belong to are devalued by the mainstream cultures in which they live. This theoretical work has been followed by empirical efforts to develop measures of internalization of oppression among various populations including African Americans, Asian Americans, and members of LGBTQ+ populations. These measures are related to several aspects of psychological distress, particularly depression, among these populations. The work to develop such scales that are applicable to Latinx populations has been limited. METHODS A survey was administered to 387 students at two four-year colleges at the City University of New York who reported having at least one grandparent born in Latin America. Included in the survey were 30 items answered on a Likert scale measuring three aspects of internalization of oppression among Latinx populations. 1. The beliefs that Latinx people exhibit negative characteristics related to criminality, drug usage, intelligence, and work habits. 2. The beliefs that most Americans hold such opinions of Latinx people. 3. The negative feelings expressed by respondents toward being Latinx. The items that loaded highly in a principal components analysis were selected. When multiple items dealt with the same issue, they were eliminated. The scale comprised of the resulting items was analyzed for intern…
author: Sucre, Jeannette A
keywords: Social and Behavioral Sciences, Scale construction, Internalization of Oppression, Latinx
date published: 2023-02-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:59:54Z
provider: City University of New York - Graduate Center
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York