Development and Validation of the Scale of Atheist Microaggressions (Sam)
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University of North Dakota UND Scholarly Commons Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects January 2015 Development And Validation Of The cS ale Of Atheist Microaggressions (SAM) Louis Anthony Pagano Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.und.edu/theses Recommended Citation Pagano, Louis Anthony, "Development And Validation Of The caleS Of Atheist Microaggressions (SAM)" (2015). Theses and Dissertations. 1691. https://commons.und.edu/theses/1691 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects at UND Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UND Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE SCALE OF ATHEIST MICROAGGRESSIONS (SAM) by Louis A. Pagano, Jr. Capt, USAFR, BSC Bachelor of Arts, DePauw University, 2008 Master of Science in Education, Indiana University, 2010 Specialist Degree in Education, Indiana University, 2011 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of North Dakota in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Grand Forks, North Dakota August 2015 c 2015 Louis A. Pagano, Jr. ii This dissertation, submitted by Louis A. Pagano, Jr. in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of North Dakota, has been read by the Faculty Advisory Committee under whom the work has been done and is hereby approved. _________________________________ Kara Wettersten, Ph.D., Chairperson _________________________________ Rachel Navarro, Ph.D. _________________________________ Sarah Edwards, Ph.D. _________________________________ Heather Terrell, Ph.D. _________________________________ Mark Askelson, Ph.D. This dissertation is being submitted by the appointed advisory committee as having met all of the requirements of the School of Graduate Studies at the University of North Dakota and is hereby approved. __________________________________ Dr. Wayne Swisher Dean of the School of Graduate Studies __________________________________ Date iii PERMISSION Title Development And Validation of the Scale of Atheist Microaggressions (SAM) Department Counseling Psychology Degree Doctor of Philosophy In presenting this dissertation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a graduate degree from the University of North Dakota, I agree that the library of this University shall make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for extensive copying for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor who supervised my dissertation work or, in her absence, by the Chairperson of the department or the dean of the School of Graduate Studies. It is understood that any copying or publication or other use of this dissertation or part thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of North Dakota in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my dissertation. Louis A. Pagano, Jr. August 2015 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................... xi ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1 Literature Review ............................................................................................. 1 The Study of Microaggressions ............................................................... 2 Cumulative Effects of Microaggressions ............................................... 7 Discrimination towards Atheists and Atheism ..................................... 8 Purpose of Study .............................................................................................. 10 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................... 12 Microaggressions .............................................................................................. 12 Contemporary Forms of Racism ............................................................ 13 Original Taxonomy of Microaggressions .............................................. 22 Religious Minority Microaggressions ..................................................... 31 Physical and Psychological Effects of Microaggressions .................... 33 Atheists and Atheism ...................................................................................... 41 Demographics of Atheists ....................................................................... 42 Concerns with Contemporary Studies of Religion and Spirituality ... 44 v Discrimination and Marginalization of Atheists .................................. 51 Summary ..................................................................................................... 61 Measuring Microaggressions .......................................................................... 62 Racial and Ethnic Minority Scale ............................................................ 63 Inventory of Microaggressions towards Black Individuals ................. 64 Hammer, Cragun, and Smith (2012) ...................................................... 65 Summary ..................................................................................................... 67 Summary of Literature Review ...................................................................... 68 Purpose of Study .............................................................................................. 71 Hypotheses ........................................................................................................ 72 Hypothesis One ..................................................................................... 72 Hypothesis Two ..................................................................................... 72 Hypothesis Three ................................................................................... 73 Hypothesis Four .................................................................................... 73 Hypothesis Five ..................................................................................... 73 Hypothesis Six ........................................................................................ 73 III. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................. 74 Pilot Methods ................................................................................................... 75 Pilot Participants .................................................................................... 75 Pilot Demographics ............................................................................... 76 Pilot Measures ........................................................................................ 81 Pilot Scale Construction Procedures ............................................................. 86 Pilot Results ...................................................................................................... 90 vi Item Analysis .......................................................................................... 91 Exploratory Factor Analysis ................................................................ 92 Measures of Validity for Pilot Study ................................................. 107 Reliability ............................................................................................... 108 Dissertation Methods .................................................................................... 108 Procedures ............................................................................................ 108 Dissertation Participant Demographics ........................................... 111 Convergent and Divergent Validity on the Revised Scale ............. 117 Reliability of the Dissertation Scale .................................................. 118 Measures ................................................................................................ 118 IV. DISSERTATION RESULTS .............................................................................. 120 Hypotheses ...................................................................................................... 120 Hypothesis One: Factor Structure .................................................... 120 Hypothesis Two: Discriminant Validity ........................................... 133 Hypothesis Three: Divergent Validity .............................................. 133 Hypothesis Four: Convergent Validity ............................................. 133 Hypothesis Five: Convergent Validity .............................................. 134 Hypothesis Six: Internal Consistency ............................................... 134 V. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................ 135 Factor Structure and Internal