+20-Item Perceived Discrimination Scale
Williams, YU, Jackson, & Anderson (1997)
Topic: Culture, Race and School Climate - Perceived Discrimination
Description of Measure:
Developed by Williams, Yu, Jackson, & Anderson (1997), the 20-item Perceived Discrimination Scale measures how often people feel that others treat them badly or unfairly on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, physical appearance, sexual orientation, or other characteristics. The scale covers discrimination in different areas of life, including at school, at work, and in one’s neighborhood.
Instructions:
How many times in your life have you been discriminated against in each of the following ways because of such things as your race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, physical appearance, sexual orientation, or other characteristics? Write the number of times each event occurred next to each statement for questions 1-11 and circle your response for questions 12-20.
Response options:
Respondents complete the Daily Discrimination Scale by indicating how often they feel discriminated against on a 1 to 4 scale (1 = often; 2 = sometimes; 3 = rarely; 4 = never).
The formula for reverse-scoring an item is: ((Number of scale points) + 1) – (Respondent’s answer)
Say, for instance, a respondent gave a rating of 4 to a reverse-scored item on the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Here is how we would reverse-score their response: ((Number of scale points) + 1) – (Respondent’s answer) (4 + 1) – 4 = 1 The new score for the item is 1, which indicates less loneliness. That makes more sense, right? Make sure to transform all reverse-scored items before calculating the average for the entire measure.
Items:
- You were discouraged by a teacher or advisor from seeking higher education. ____
- You were denied a scholarship.____
- You were not hired for a job.____
- You were not given a promotion.____
- You were fired.____
- You were prevented from renting or buying a home in the neighborhood you wanted.____
- You were prevented from remaining in a neighborhood because neighbors made life so uncomfortable.____
- You were hassled by the police.____
- You were denied a bank loan.____
- You were denied or provided inferior medical care.____
- You were denied or provided inferior service by a plumber, care mechanic, or other service provider.____
- You are treated with less courtesy than other people.
|
Often |
Sometimes |
Rarely |
Never |
13. You are treated with less respect than other people.
|
Often |
Sometimes |
Rarely |
Never |
14. You receive poorer service than other people at restaurants or stores.
|
Often |
Sometimes |
Rarely |
Never |
15. People act as if they think you are not smart.
|
Often |
Sometimes |
Rarely |
Never |
16. People act as if they are afraid of you.
|
Often |
Sometimes |
Rarely |
Never |
17. People act as if they think you are dishonest.
|
Often |
Sometimes |
Rarely |
Never |
18. People act as if they think you are not as good as they are.
|
Often |
Sometimes |
Rarely |
Never |
19. You are called names or insulted.
|
Often |
Sometimes |
Rarely |
Never |
20. You are threatened or harassed.
|
Often |
Sometimes |
Rarely |
Never |
Citation:
Williams, D. R., YU, Y., Jackson, J. S., & Anderson, N. B. (1997). Racial differences in physical and mental health: Socioeconomic status, stress and discrimination. Journal of Health Psychology, 2, 335-351. https://doi.org/10.1177/135910539700200305 Links to an external site..
Link to PDF:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/135910539700200305 Links to an external site.