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Sensitivity to Potential Anti-Atheist Discrimination Events: Psychological Correlates and Relationship with Psychological Well-Being

Bradley, David F.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1523896514509333

Abstract Details

2018, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Psychology.
Ample research suggests that many people have negative attitudes toward atheists and do discriminate against atheists. Atheists, in turn, are aware of anti-atheist attitudes and report experiencing many forms of discrimination. Research into the effects of discrimination in many different minority groups, including atheists, has used retrospective self-reported frequency of perceived experiences of discrimination as the variable of interest. However, this methodology confounds two important constructs: exposure to potentially discriminatory experiences and a tendency to interpret events as discriminatory. To measure the latter, which I term discrimination sensitivity, I developed a measure consisting of several hypothetical scenarios that atheists might find themselves in, and asked participants to judge whether they think each scenario is an example of discrimination. Participants were self-identified U.S. atheist adults recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (N = 441). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that a 10-item measure with two subscales (Overt and Subtle) best fit the data. This dissertation was particularly designed to test the validity and effect of sensitivity to subtle, rather than overt, discrimination. Sensitivity to subtle discrimination was associated with psychological entitlement, centrality of atheist identity, and interpersonal rejection sensitivity, providing initial support for the validity of the Subtle subscale. Finally, I found that sensitivity to subtle discrimination partially mediated the relationship between self-reported past-year anti-atheist discrimination and psychological well-being (depression and anxiety). I discuss implications for clinical work with clients reporting experiences of discrimination.
Julie Exline, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Heath Demaree, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Robert Greene, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Timothy Beal, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
108 p.
Psychology
atheism; religion; discrimination

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Bradley, D. F. (2018). Sensitivity to Potential Anti-Atheist Discrimination Events: Psychological Correlates and Relationship with Psychological Well-Being [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1523896514509333

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Bradley, David. Sensitivity to Potential Anti-Atheist Discrimination Events: Psychological Correlates and Relationship with Psychological Well-Being. 2018. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1523896514509333.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Bradley, David. "Sensitivity to Potential Anti-Atheist Discrimination Events: Psychological Correlates and Relationship with Psychological Well-Being." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1523896514509333

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1523896514509333
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© 2018, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Sensitivity to Potential Anti-Atheist Discrimination Events: Psychological Correlates and Relationship with Psychological Well-Being by David F. Bradley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.