Linda F. Wightman

Does Diversity at Undergraduate Institutions Influence Student Outcomes

Using two separate samples, this study establishes and replicates a model of the influence of two types of educational diversity on student outcomes. Study 1, using survey data regarding undergraduate experiences from a volunteer sample of 1,963 incoming law students, confirms measurement models for diversity and outcome constructs and tests models predicting student outcomes from Classroom Diversity and Contact Diversity. Study 2 utilizes data from a nationally representative sample of 6,100 incoming law students to replicate results from Study 1. Both studies find a positive relationship between diversity and educational outcomes. Results suggest that institutions of higher education should support informal interactions between students of diverse backgrounds and should encourage students to enroll in courses dealing with diversity.

The Effects of Educational Diversity in a National Sample of Law Students: Fitting Multilevel Latent Variable Models in Data With Categorical Indicators

Controversy surrounding the use of race-conscious admissions can be partially resolved with improved empirical knowledge of the effects of racial diversity in educational settings. We use a national sample of law students nested in 64 law schools to test the complex and largely untested theory regarding the effects of educational diversity on student outcomes. Social scientists who study these outcomes frequently encounter both latent variables and nested data within a single analysis. Yet, until recently, an appropriate modeling technique has been computationally infeasible, and consequently few applied researchers have estimated appropriate models to test their theories, sometimes limiting the scope of their research question. Our results, based on disaggregated multilevel structural equation models, show that racial diversity is related to a reduction in prejudiced attitudes and increased perceived exposure to diverse ideas and that these effects are mediated by more frequent interpersonal contact with diverse peers. These findings provide support for the idea that administrative manipulation of educational diversity may lead to improved student outcomes. Admitting a racially/ethnically diverse student body provides an educational experience that encourages increased exposure to diverse ideas and belief systems.

Wellness in adult gay males: Examining the impact of internalized homophobia, self-disclosure, and self-disclosure to parents

Abstract Adult gay males face significant social stigma, internalize negative societal messages related to their sexual orientation, and experience difficulties related to disclosing their sexual orientation to others, particularly to parents. Although the effects of these challenges in terms of pathology have been established, the relationship among internalized homophobia, self-disclosure, self-disclosure to parents, and wellness has not been examined. The results of a study of these variables among 217 gay males are presented and discussed.

An Item Factor Analysis and Item Response Theory-Based Revision of the Everyday Discrimination Scale

The Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS), a widely used measure of daily perceived discrimination, is purported to be unidimensional, to function well among African Americans, and to have adequate construct validity. Two separate studies and data sources were used to examine and cross-validate the psychometric properties of the EDS. In Study 1, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted on a sample of African American law students (N = 589), providing strong evidence of local dependence, or nuisance multidimensionality within the EDS. In Study 2, a separate nationally representative community sample (N = 3,527) was used to model the identified local dependence in an item factor analysis (i.e., bifactor model). Next, item response theory (IRT) calibrations were conducted to obtain item parameters. A five-item, revised-EDS was then tested for gender differential item functioning (in an IRT framework). Based on these analyses, a summed score to IRT-scaled score translation table is provided for the revised-EDS. Our results indicate that the revised-EDS is unidimensional, with minimal differential item functioning, and retains predictive validity consistent with the original scale.

Everyday Discrimination in a National Sample of Incoming Law Students

Everyday discrimination experiences are associated with negative mental and physical health, less positive cross-racial counseling relationships, and alienation in educational environments for underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. This report describes the prevalence and experiential and attitudinal correlates of self-reported everyday discrimination in a national sample of over 8,000 incoming students from 64 U.S. ABA-accredited law schools. Race/ethnicity, gender, past lifetime discrimination, neighborhood context, beliefs about societal discrimination experienced by minorities, and expectations about future professional encounters with racial discrimination were associated with reported everyday discrimination. Parental racial socialization and affirmative action support did not show associations. These data provide diversity officers and admissions professionals with a descriptive snapshot of this experiential diversity that exists as students begin their legal education. This diversity may provide insight into student differences in managing of academic stress, forming relationships with faculty and students, and assessing the quality of the educational experience.

Practical Issues in Computerized Test Assembly

This paper focuses on the potential contributions of optimal test design models to practical test assembly issues. These issues result from limitations in the models or the technology required for their implementation and limitations inherent in the test assembly process as it is currently configured, regardless of whether tests are assembled by computerized assembly algorithms or by experienced test specialists. Explication of these issues helps identify future challenges for researchers who may refine and enhance the models and for practitioners who may integrate the models into their operational procedures.

The Role Of Standardized Admission Tests In The Debate About Merit, Academic Standards, And Affirmative Action

This article examines two issues in the debate about affirmative action in higher education admission—merit and academic standards—from the perspective of the role of standardized testing in both fueling and informing that debate. The discussion includes summaries of selected affirmative action litigation cases in which test scores were central to the complaint and/or the defense, an evaluation of test-score use in the admission process, and a presentation of alternatives to standardized test scores for admissions. Attention is focused on the potential impact of those alternatives on diversity as well as on academic standards and merit. The article concludes with explication of current challenges to the testing community. Primary among these is the need to articulate meaningful measures of relevant admission factors that go beyond test scores and grades. Test theory and technology are capable or near capable of supporting a more comprehensive system to assess multiple factors, moving admission testing from the single test score to a battery or profile of strengths and weaknesses among applicants.

Examining the Relationship Among Self-Reported Assertiveness, Perceived Discrimination, and College Environment in a National Sample of Black Women Law Students

The purpose of our study was to examine college environment, defined as whether law students entered law school from a historically Black college or university or a traditionally White institution, as a moderator of the relationship between gender discrimination and assertiveness. Using a national sample of 402 incoming Black women law students and multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with covariates, the authors also tested whether college environment moderated the relationship between racial discrimination and assertiveness. CFA models with covariates were used to further investigate whether racial discrimination and gender discrimination interact to influence assertiveness. Results indicated that college environment did not moderate the relationship between gender discrimination and assertiveness. College environment also did not moderate the relationship between racial discrimination and assertiveness. Additional results revealed a significant interaction between racial and gender discrimination, whereby racial discrimination was positively related to assertiveness among students who experienced gender discrimination. Findings suggest that irrespective of college environment, racism and sexism intersect to enhance assertiveness and may increase students’ academic success. However, law school administrators should ultimately seek to reduce incidents of racism and sexism because students’ assertive responses could make them vulnerable to mental health risks and to further acts of discrimination.