White Racial Identity and White Racial Consciousness: Similarities, Differences, and Recommendations

Abstract

To dispel apparent confusion, White racial identity and White racial consciousness are described and contrasted in terms of theoretical conceptualization and measures used. It is recommended that priority be given to the validation of existing or new measurement instruments to provide a sound basis for future findings.Para disipar la confusion aparente, la identidad racial Blanca, y el conocirniento racial Blanco, se describen y son contrastados en terminos de sus conceptos teoricos y las medidas empleadas. Se recomienda dar prioridad a la validacion de instrumentos existentes o nuevos para proporcionar una base solida para 10s descubrimientos futuros.he racial outlook of both people of color and White people is considered by many specializing in the multicultural area to be potentially T valuable, not only for practice (Helms, 1984) but also for research and training (Atkinson &Thompson, 1992; Sabnani, Ponterotto, & Borodovsky, 1991). However, differences in the approaches of White racial identity (Helms, 1990(Helms, , 1995 and White racial consciousness (Rowe, Behrens, & Leach, 1995) have led to inevitable confusion. Because of the current interest and importance of this topic and the lack of discussion about the distinctive aspects of each model, we describe the conceptualization and measurement of each model and discuss the implications of these issues for future research, training, and practice. whrte raclal identitv

Expanding White Racial Identity Theory: A Qualitative Investigation of Whites Engaged in Antiracist Action

“…Helms's (, ) theory of WRID has focused on how Whites perceive and interact with people of color, with little description about how Whites may define their own and others' WRIs (Leach et al, ; Miller & Fellows, ). The findings from our study extend understanding of how Whites who demonstrate characteristics of the autonomy status develop and make meaning of their WRIs.…”

“…Over the years, critiques have emerged regarding Helms's (, ) model. Scholars have noted limitations in the model's ability to concretely operationalize the experiences, lifestyles, and perceptions of Whites (Leach, Behrens, & LaFleur, ; Miller & Fellows, ). For instance, Rowe () criticized the autonomy status as a simplistic description of Whiteness that was developed “in the absence of supporting evidence” (p. 242).…”

Developing an Antiracist Stance: How White Youth Understand Structural Racism

“…Rowe et al (1994) identified two status constellations of racial attitudes within the White Racial Consciousness model: (a) unachieved White racial consciousness, which is characterized by a lack of White identity awareness, exploration, and/or commitment and (b) achieved White racial consciousness status, which is characterized by awareness and exploration of race and about racial concerns and commitment to particular racial attitudes. Changes in racial attitudes result from life experiences that generate cognitive dissonance, and resulting exploration and resolution of that dissonance (Leach, Behrens, & LaFleur, 2002; Rowe et al, 1994). White racial consciousness is important because previous research and theory agree that ally action is dependent on White racial consciousness, in terms of recognizing awareness of the unearned benefits (Case, 2012; Michael & Conger, 2009; Reason, Roosa Millar, & Scales, 2005; Smith & Redington, 2010) related to being White, in contrast to being a person of color.…”

Strategies Used by Whites to Address Their Racism: Implications for Autonomous White Racial Identities

“…Janet Helms's (1990, 1995, 2014) model of White racial identity development (WRID) is one of the most widely used models in teaching, counseling, and research (Ford & Orlandella, 2015; Hays et al, 2021; Helms, 2014; Turnage‐Butterbaugh, 2017). Counselor educators have used Helms's (1995) model to shape curriculum and assess and support White students’ racial identity development (Brown et al, 1996; Malott et al, 2015), stressing the importance of facilitating learners’ WRID in order to increase multicultural competency (Brown et al, 1996; A. Johnson & Williams, 2015; Leach et al, 2002). Understanding WRID can provide direction for personal and client racial identity growth (A. Johnson & Williams, 2015; Utsey et al, 2002), and Sue et al (2019) contended that movement toward a nonracist White identity is essential for Whites to conduct effective multicultural counseling.…”