Work Discrimination

Abstract

The Work Discrimination scale, also referred to as the Chronic Work Discrimination and Harassment scale, is a psychological scale designed to measure the frequency and intensity of perceived discriminatory and harassing experiences encountered in the workplace over the preceding 12 months. Developed primarily for use in large-scale epidemiological studies, two prominent versions exist: an extensive 12-item version utilized in the Youth Education and Society (YES) Study, and an abbreviated 6-item version employed in the Chicago Community Adult Health Study (CCAHS). These instruments capture both overt and subtle forms of bias, including unfair job assignments, exclusion, excessive scrutiny, and exposure to racial, ethnic, gender, or sexual orientation-based slurs and jokes. The scale is a crucial tool for examining the relationship between chronic workplace stress and health outcomes, particularly concerning Racial Disparities in Health.

Keywords

Workplace Discrimination, Chronic Stress, Racial Harassment, Ethnic Discrimination, Employment, Psychometric Scale, CCAHS, YES Study, Perceived Racism, Occupational Health

Authors

McNeilly, M.D., Anderson, N.B., Armstead, C.A., Clark, R., Corbett, M., Robinson, E.L., Pieper, C.F., Lepisto, E.M. (1996), Bobo, L., Suh, S.A. (2000), Sternthal, M., Slopen, N., Williams, D.R. (2011)

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the Chronic Work Discrimination and Harassment scale is to quantify the frequency of exposure to unfair treatment and hostile workplace environments experienced by individuals, particularly those belonging to marginalized racial or ethnic groups. By measuring chronic exposure to these stressors, researchers can better understand the psychosocial mechanisms through which perceived discrimination contributes to adverse health outcomes and socioeconomic inequality. The scale facilitates the comparison of discriminatory experiences across different populations and labor market contexts.

Construct

The scale measures the overarching construct of perceived chronic workplace mistreatment, which is often operationalized across two primary dimensions, especially in the abbreviated version:

• Discrimination: This subscale focuses on unfair treatment and systemic disadvantage, such as requiring extra effort for equal evaluation, being subjected to excessive scrutiny, or experiencing unfair humiliation. These items address institutional and structural biases.
• Harassment: This subscale focuses on exposure to explicit hostility and verbal abuse, specifically measuring the frequency of racial, ethnic, gender, or sexual orientation-based slurs and jokes directed toward the individual or used generally by supervisors or coworkers. This captures interpersonal hostility and microaggressions.

Validity

While specific detailed construct validity coefficients (beyond reliability estimates for the abbreviated version) are not provided in the source material, the scale’s validity is supported by its extensive use in major epidemiological and sociological studies (YES Study, CCAHS Study). These studies rely on the scale’s ability to measure workplace experiences that align theoretically with established models of stress and health disparities. The items demonstrate strong face validity, directly querying experiences commonly reported as discriminatory, such as unequal promotion opportunities and unfair job assignments, which correlate with broader measures of workplace inequality.

Reliability

Reliability information is explicitly provided for the Abbreviated Chronic Work Discrimination and Harassment scale, developed for the CCAHS Study (Sternthal et al., 2011). This version demonstrates good internal consistency across its subscales:

• The Discrimination subscale (3 items) reported a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of .73.
• The Harassment subscale (3 items) reported a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of .84.

These coefficients indicate that the items within each subscale are highly correlated and consistently measure their respective dimensions of workplace mistreatment, confirming the internal Reliability of the abbreviated instrument.

Factor Analysis

The structure of the Abbreviated Chronic Work Discrimination and Harassment scale (CCAHS Study) suggests a clear two-factor solution, differentiating between the experiences of overt Harassment (slurs/jokes) and more subtle structural Discrimination (unfair monitoring or treatment). This implicit factor structure supports the theoretical distinction between direct hostility and systemic inequity in the workplace environment. The original 12-item scale likely captures multiple overlapping factors related to institutional bias, supervisory neglect, and peer hostility, as suggested by the breadth of its item content, though specific factor loadings are not detailed here.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire/Psychometric inventory

Format: Likert-type frequency scale administered typically within a broader survey context.

Language Available: English (Primary language of development)

Population Group: Working adults, particularly those in minority racial and ethnic groups.

Age Group: Adult (typically 18+)

Population Details: Utilized in studies focusing on African Americans (McNeilly et al., 1996) and multiethnic labor markets (Bobo, 2000; Sternthal et al., 2011).

Test Methodology: Respondents are asked to report the frequency of experiencing specific discriminatory or harassing situations during the past 12 months, using a 5-point scale:

• 1 = Once a week or more
• 2 = A few times a month
• 3 = A few times a year
• 4 = Less than once a year
• 5 = Never

Keywords

Workplace Stressor, Racial Bias, Organizational Psychology, Survey Instrument, Health Outcomes, Employment Inequality, Discrimination Measurement, Psychosocial Factors

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not specified in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not specified in source material, but associated research is linked to institutions such as Harvard University (Williams, D.R.).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The initial conceptualization and related instruments originated around 1996 (McNeilly et al.) and 2000 (Bobo). The abbreviated versions were utilized in studies published around 2011 (Sternthal et al.). Specific permission and fee details are typically handled by the primary researchers or associated academic institutions. The instrument is often made available for non-commercial research purposes.

The instrument documentation can be found online at: http://scholar.harvard.edu/davidrwilliams/book/export/html/32495

The original PDF resource document detailing the measurement of discrimination can be downloaded here: http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/davidrwilliams/files/measuring_discrimination_resource_feb_2012_0_0.pdf

Reference’s

• 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.
• Bobo, L‚ Suh SA. (2000). Surveying Racial Discrimination: Analyses From a Multiethnic Labor Market. Prismatic Metropolis: Inequality in Los Angeles. (L. D. Bobo‚ M. L. Oliver‚ J. H. Johnson‚ A. Valenzuela‚ Eds.); 527-564.‚ New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
• Sternthal, M.‚ Slopen, N.‚ Williams, D.R. “Racial Disparities in Health: How Much Does Stress Really Matter? Du Bois Review‚ 2011; 8(1): 95-113.

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Items of the Work Discrimination

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Chronic Work Discrimination and Harassment (YES Study)

Here are some situations that can arise at work. Please tell me how often you have experienced them during the LAST 12 MONTHS.

1. How often are you UNFAIRLY given the jobs that no one else wants to do?
2. At work‚ when different opinions would be helpful‚ how often is your opinion not asked for?
3. How often are you watched more closely than others?
4. How often does your supervisor or boss use racial or ethnic slurs or jokes?
5. How often does your supervisor or boss direct racial or ethnic slurs or jokes at you?
6. How often do your coworkers use racial or ethnic slurs or jokes?
7. How often do your coworkers direct racial or ethnic slurs or jokes at you?
8. How often do you feel that you have to work twice as hard as others work?
9. How often do you feel that you are ignored or not taken seriously by your boss?
10. How often do others assume that you work in a lower status job than you do and treat you as such?
11. How often has a coworker with less experience and fewer qualifications gotten promoted before you?
12. How often have you been unfairly humiliated in front of others at work?

Response categories: 1=Once a week or more‚ 2= A few times a month‚ 3= A few times a year‚ 4= Less than once a year‚ 5= Never

Chronic Work Discrimination and Harassment (Abbreviated, CCAHS Study)

Here are some more situations that can arise at work. Please tell me how often you have experienced them during the past 12 months.

Discrimination (3 items‚ alpha =.73)

1. How often do you feel that you have to work twice as hard as others to get the same treatment or evaluation?
2. How often are you watched more closely than other workers?
3. How often are you unfairly humiliated in front of others at work?

Harassment (3 items‚ alpha =.84)

1. How often do your supervisor or coworkers make slurs or jokes about racial or ethnic groups?
2. How often do your supervisor or coworkers make slurs or jokes about women?
3. How often do your supervisor or co-workers make slurs or jokes about gays or lesbians?

Response categories: 1=Once a week or more‚ 2= A few times a month‚ 3= A few times a year‚ 4= Less than once a year‚ 5= Never