TY - JOUR
T1 - Justice Is Not Blind
T2 - A Preliminary Evaluation of an Implicit Bias Training for Justice Professionals
AU - Fix, Rebecca L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2020/12/1
Y1 - 2020/12/1
N2 - While there are several studies that have tested efficacy of implicit bias trainings, none have tested how working within a justice profession or how one’s racial identity impact outcomes following participation in such a training. Additionally, though empathy influences bias, no studies have tested for the effect of implicit bias training on ethnocultural empathy. The present study is a program evaluation of an implicit bias training program that examines the effects of profession and racial identity on outcomes, including ethnocultural empathy. The implicit bias training was a 3-h standardized training that described how implicit biases are formed, how they impact children in the school-to-prison pipeline and adults in society, the short- and long-term consequences of those biases, and strategies for responding to one’s own implicit biases. Participants who completed implicit bias trainings were 243 justice professionals and 274 non-justice professionals. Results indicated training outcomes were significantly associated with participant gender, race, racial identity, and whether participants worked in justice or non-justice professions. In addition, participants indicated several strengths and assets of the program; how receptive participants were to implicit bias training components was significantly associated with gender, race, and whether the participants worked in justice settings. The current study provides a necessary but incomplete picture of the strengths and weaknesses of this implicit bias training, lending support for continued trainings with more in-depth and longitudinal study of them.
AB - While there are several studies that have tested efficacy of implicit bias trainings, none have tested how working within a justice profession or how one’s racial identity impact outcomes following participation in such a training. Additionally, though empathy influences bias, no studies have tested for the effect of implicit bias training on ethnocultural empathy. The present study is a program evaluation of an implicit bias training program that examines the effects of profession and racial identity on outcomes, including ethnocultural empathy. The implicit bias training was a 3-h standardized training that described how implicit biases are formed, how they impact children in the school-to-prison pipeline and adults in society, the short- and long-term consequences of those biases, and strategies for responding to one’s own implicit biases. Participants who completed implicit bias trainings were 243 justice professionals and 274 non-justice professionals. Results indicated training outcomes were significantly associated with participant gender, race, racial identity, and whether participants worked in justice or non-justice professions. In addition, participants indicated several strengths and assets of the program; how receptive participants were to implicit bias training components was significantly associated with gender, race, and whether the participants worked in justice settings. The current study provides a necessary but incomplete picture of the strengths and weaknesses of this implicit bias training, lending support for continued trainings with more in-depth and longitudinal study of them.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Disparity
KW - Disproportionate minority contact
KW - Race
KW - Youth
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U2 - 10.1007/s12552-020-09297-x
DO - 10.1007/s12552-020-09297-x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85087935891
SN - 1867-1748
VL - 12
SP - 362
EP - 374
JO - Race and Social Problems
JF - Race and Social Problems
IS - 4
ER -