Major Experiences of Discrimination scales
David R. Williams et al‚ 2008
Major Experiences of Discrimination (NSAL and SASH version)
Adapted from 1995 DAS and MIDUS
Midlife in United States (MIDUS)
Detroit Area Study (DAS)
In the following questions‚ we are interested in the way other people have treated you or your beliefs about how other people have treated you. Can you tell me if any of the following has ever happened to you:
1. At any time in your life‚ have you ever been unfairly fired?
2. For unfair reasons‚ have you ever not been hired for a job?
3. Have you ever been unfairly denied a promotion?
4. Have you ever been unfairly stopped‚ searched‚ questioned‚ physically threatened or abused by the police?
5. Have you ever been unfairly discouraged by a teacher or advisor from continuing your education?
6. Have you ever been unfairly prevented from moving into a neighborhood because the landlord or a realtor refused to sell or rent you a house or apartment?
7. Have you ever moved into a neighborhood where neighbors made life difficult for you or your family?
8. Have you ever been unfairly denied a bank loan?
9. Have you ever received service from someone such as a plumber or car mechanic that was worse than what other people get?
Follow-up questions after each item:
1. What do you think was the main reason for this experience?
a. Your Ancestry or National Origins
b. Your Gender
c. Your Race
d. Your Age
e. Your Religion
f. Your Height
g. Your Weight
h. Some other Aspect of Your Physical Appearance
i. Your Sexual Orientation
j. Your Education or Income Level
2. When was the last time this happened?
a. Past week
b. Past month
c. Past year
d. More than a year ago
3. How many times has this happened during your lifetime?
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Major Experiences of Discrimination (Abbreviated Version)
Adapted from NSAL for the CCAHS study
In the following questions‚ we are interested in your perceptions about the way other people have treated you. Can you tell me if any of the following has ever happened to you:
1. At any time in your life‚ have you ever been unfairly fired from a job or been unfairly denied a promotion?
2. For unfair reasons‚ have you ever not been hired for a job?
3. Have you ever been unfairly stopped‚ searched‚ questioned‚ physically threatened or abused by the police?
4. Have you ever been unfairly discouraged by a teacher or advisor from continuing your education?
5. Have you ever been unfairly prevented from moving into a neighborhood because the landlord or a realtor refused to sell or rent you a house or apartment?
6. Have you ever been unfairly denied a bank loan?
USE SAME FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS AS FOR THE FULL SCALE
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Major Experiences of Discrimination: Original 6 item version
Developed for the 1995 Detroit Area Study (DAS)
Forman‚ T.A.‚ et al. 1997
1. Do you think you have ever been unfairly fired or denied a promotion?
2. For unfair reasons‚ do you think you have ever not been hired for a job?
3. Have you ever been unfairly stopped‚ searched‚ questioned‚ physically threatened or abused by the police?
4. Have you ever been unfairly discouraged by a teacher or advisor from continuing your education?
5. Do you think you have ever been unfairly prevented from moving into a neighborhood because the landlord or a realtor refused to sell or rent you a house or apartment?
6. Have you ever moved into a neighborhood where neighbors made life difficult for you or your family?
FOR EACH YES RESPONSE TO THE ABOVE QUESTIONS‚ HERE ARE THE FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS:
1. What was the main reason?
· Your ethnicity………1
· Your gender………2
· Your race………3
· Your age………4
· Your religion………5
· Your physical appearance………6
· Your sexual orientation………7
· Your income level/social class………8
· Other Specify __________
2. Did that happen in the last 12 months?
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Major Experiences of Discrimination: 9 item version from the MIDUS Study
Adapted from the 1995 DAS
Detroit Area Study (DAS)
Kessler‚ R.C.‚ et al. 1999
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? (If the experience happened to you‚ but for some reason other than discrimination‚ enter “0”.)
# OF TIMES IN YOUR LIFE
1. You were discouraged by a teacher or advisor from seeking higher education?
2. You were denied a scholarship?
3. You were not hired for a job?
4. You were not given a job promotion?
5. You were fired?
6. You were prevented from renting or buying a home in the neighborhood you wanted?
7. You were prevented from remaining in a neighborhood because neighbors made life so uncomfortable?
8. You were hassled by the police
9. You were denied a bank loan?
10.You were denied or provided inferior medical care?
11.You were denied or provided inferior service by a plumber‚ car mechanic‚ or other service provider?
Follow-up question for each item: number of times in your life?
GLOBAL FOLLOW UP QUESTION AFTER ALL ITEMS: What was the main reason for the discrimination you experienced? (If more than one main reason‚ circle all that apply.)
1. Your age
2. Your gender
3. Your race
4. Your ethnicity or nationality
5. Your religion
6. Your height or weight
7. Some other aspect of your appearance
8. A physical disability
9. Your sexual orientation
10.Some other reason for discrimination (Please specify:) -–––––––
Overall‚ how much has discrimination interfered with you having a full and productive life?
1. A lot
2. Some
3. A little
4. Not at all
Overall‚ how much harder has your life been because of discrimination?
1. A lot
2. Some
3. A little
4. Not at all
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Major Experiences of Discrimination (Expanded 19 item version)
Williams‚ D.R.‚ et al. 2012
Expanded from the 1995 Detroit Area Study and the MIDUS study for the YES Health Study
We are interested in your beliefs about the way other people have treated you. In this section‚ I am going to ask you about experiences of being treated unfairly.
Employment
First‚ I will ask you about being treated unfairly at work. Can you tell me if each of the following has ever happened to you:
1. At any time in your life‚ have you ever been UNFAIRLY fired?
2. For UNFAIR reasons‚ do you think you have ever not been hired for a job?
3. Have you ever felt that others at your place of employment UNFAIRLY got promotions or pay raises faster than you did?
4. Have you ever been UNFAIRLY denied a promotion?
5. In addition to what we have talked about‚ is there any other way you have been treated UNFAIRLY AT WORK‚ for example‚ prevented from doing something or been hassled or made to feel inferior?
Housing
6. Have you ever been UNFAIRLY prevented from moving into a neighborhood because the landlord or a realtor refused to sell or rent you a house or apartment?
7. Have you ever moved into a neighborhood where neighbors UNFAIRLY made life difficult for you or your family?
8. (IF YES) Was it so bad that that you moved out?
9. In addition to what we have talked about‚ have you ever been treated UNFAIRLY‚ prevented from doing something‚ or been hassled or made to feel inferior in getting into or staying in a neighborhood that you wanted?
Education
10.Have you ever been UNFAIRLY discouraged by a teacher or advisor from continuing your education?
11.Have you ever been UNFAIRLY denied a scholarship?
12.In addition to what we have talked about‚ have you ever been treated UNFAIRLY‚ prevented from doing something‚ or been hassled or made to feel inferior by teachers or classmates?
Police/Courts
13.Have you ever been UNFAIRLY stopped‚ searched‚ or questioned by the police?
14.Have you ever been UNFAIRLY physically threatened or abused by the police?
15.Have you ever been UNFAIRLY suspected or accused of doing something illegal by the authorities?
16.In addition to what we have talked about‚ have you ever been treated UNFAIRLY‚ prevented from doing something‚ or been hassled or made to feel inferior by the police or the courts?
Other Major Experiences of Unfair Treatment
17.Have you ever been UNFAIRLY denied a bank loan?
18.Have you ever been UNFAIRLY denied medical care or provided medical care that was worse than what other people get?
19.Have you ever UNFAIRLY received service from someone such as a plumber or car mechanic that was worse than what other people get?
20.Thinking over your entire life‚ in addition to what we have talked about‚ have you ever been treated UNFAIRLY‚ prevented from doing something‚ or been hassled or made to feel inferior in some other aspect of your life?
Response categories for all of the previous questions are Yes/No.
• Follow-up Questions:
We want to talk in more detail about experiences of unfair treatment you told me about earlier.
For each Question:
H1. You told me that you have been UNFAIRLY ________________.
H1a. How many times has this happened in your ENTIRE LIFE?
1. ONCE
5. MORE THAN ONCE (SPECIFY):
GO TO H1c.
H1b. In what month or year did this happen? (GO TO H5b)
H1c. How many times has this happened in the last year? ______________
H1d. In what year did you first have an experience of ___________________?
H1e. What do you think was the main reason for this experience? (CHECK MORE THAN ONE IF VOLUNTEERED).
1. Your ancestry or National Origins
2. Your Gender
3. Your Race
4. Your Age
5. Your Religion
6. Your Height or Weight
7. Some other Aspect of Your Physical Appearance
8. Your Sexual Orientation
9. Your Education or Income Level
10.A Physical Disability
11.Other (SPECIFY) _____________________________
H1f. How certain are you that __________ was the main reason for this experience?
Absolutely positive‚ Pretty sure‚ Somewhat doubtful ‚Very doubtful
H2. Think of your WORST experience of ____________________. Could you tell me more about what happened? (PROBE: ensure that information is included about the age‚ gender‚ and race of the perpetrator).
H3. Was your worst experience of ________________________ also your VERY FIRST experience?
Response Categories: YES – GO TO H4. NO
H3a. What do you think was the main reason for your worst experience? (CHECK MORE THAN ONE IF VOLUNTEERED).
H4. Was your worst experience of ____________________ also your MOST RECENT experience?
Response Categories: YES – GO TO H5e. NO
H5. In what year was your MOST RECENT EXPERIENCE of _____________________?
H5a. In what month did it happen?___________________________________
H5b. Could you tell me more about what happened? (PROBE: ensure that information is included about the age‚ gender‚ and race of the perpetrator).
H5c. What do you think was the main reason for this (your most recent experience)? (CHECK MORE THAN ONE IF VOLUNTEERED).
H5d. How certain are you that __________ was the main reason for this experience?
Absolutely positive‚ Pretty sure‚ Somewhat doubtful‚ Very doubtful
H5e. How did this experience make you feel? (check all that apply).
1. Angry
2. Frustrated
3. Sad
4. Powerless
5. Hopeless
6. Scared
7. Vulnerable
8. Humiliated
9. Vengeful
10.Inferior
11.Not surprised/resigned
H5f. How stressful was this experience for you? Would you say it was:
Very stressful‚ Quite stressful‚ Somewhat stressful‚ Not at all stressful
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Coping with Discrimination
Adapted from: McNeilly‚ M.D.‚ et al‚ 1996 & Krieger‚ N. 1990
H6. How did you respond to this experience? Please tell me if you did each of the following things A LOT‚ SOME‚ or NOT AT ALL:
1. Tried to do something about it.
2. Accepted it as a fact of life.
3. Worked harder to prove them wrong.
4. Talked to someone about what to do about the situation.
5. Didn’t let it get to you; refused to think about it too much.
6. Felt that you brought it on yourself.
7. Talked to someone about how you were feeling.
8. Tried to keep your feelings to yourself.
9. Criticized or lectured yourself.
10.Increased your efforts to make things work.
11.Talked to someone who could do something concrete about the situation.
12.Went on as if nothing had happened.
13.Expressed anger to the person who caused the problem.
14.Tried to forget that it had happened.
15.Sought or found spiritual comfort and support.
Global Evaluation
H7. How well do you feel you have dealt up to now with this experience and any changes or problems which may have resulted from it?
VERY WELL‚ QUITE WELL‚ SOMEWHAT WELL‚ NOT TOO WELL
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Coping with Discrimination – NSAL Study (Abbreviated)
How did you respond to this/these experience(s)? Please tell me if you did each of the following things.
1. Tried to do something about it.
2. Accepted it as a fact of life.
3. Worked harder to prove them wrong.
4. Realized that you brought it on yourself.
5. Talked to someone about how you were feeling.
6. Expressed anger or got mad.
7. Prayed about the situation.
This instrument can be found at: http://scholar.harvard.edu/davidrwilliams/book/export/html/32495
Forman‚ T.A.‚ Williams‚ D.R.‚ and Jackson‚ J.S. (1997). “Race‚ Place‚ and Discrimination.” In Carol Gardner (ed.)‚ Perspectives on Social Problems. JAI Press.; 9:231-261.
Kessler‚ R.C.‚ Mickelson‚ K.‚ and Williams‚ D.R. (1999). “The Prevalence‚ Distribution‚ and Mental Health Correlates of Perceived Discrimination in the United States.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 40(3):208-230.
Krieger‚ N. (1990). “Racial and gender discrimination: Risk factors for high blood pressure?” Social Science and Medicine; 30 (12)‚ 1273-1281.
McNeilly‚ M.D.‚ Anderson‚ N.B.‚ Armstead‚ C.A.‚ Clark‚ R.‚ Corbett‚ M.‚ Robinson‚ E.L.‚ Pieper‚ C.F. & Lepisto‚ E.M. (1996). “The perceived racism scale: A multidimensional assessment of the experience of white racism among African Americans.” Ethnicity and Disease; 6 (1‚ 2)‚ 154-166.
Sternthal‚ M.J.‚ Slopen‚ N.‚ Williams‚ D.R. (2011). “Racial Disparities in Health.” Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race; 8: 95-113.
Williams‚ D.R.‚ González‚ H.M.‚ Williams‚ S.‚ Mohammed‚ S.A.‚ Moomal‚ H‚ Stein‚ D.J. (2008). “Perceived Discrimination‚ Race and Health in South Africa: Findings from the South Africa Stress and Health Study.” Social Science and Medicine‚; 67: 441-452.
Williams‚ D.R.‚ John‚ D.‚ Oyserman‚ D.‚ Sonnega‚ J.‚ Mohammed‚ S.A.‚ Jackson‚ J.S. (2012). “Research on Discrimination and Health: An Exploratory Study of Unresolved Conceptual and Measurement Issues” American Journal of Public Health; 102(5): 975-978.