Validity of Scores on the Attitudes toward Diversity Scale (ATDS)

Abstract

The Attitudes Toward Diversity scale (ATDS) was developed to measure the construct of attitudes toward diversity. It consists of 10 items representing each of three domains: attitudes toward diversity with regard to (a) coworkers, (b) supervisors, and (c) hiring and promotion decisions. To determine psychometric characteristics of scale scores, 349 full-time workers completed the instrument. Subjects included firefighters, police officers, first-line supervisors, technologists, clerical/secretarial workers, and managers. Confirmatory factor analysis indicates that the ATDS is three-dimensional, as hypothesized. Further analyses suggest that the scale has high internal consistency (a = .90) and is unaffected by a social desirability response style (r = -.09, n.s.).

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Anderson, J. C. , & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 411-423.

Cascio, W. F (1991). Applied psychology in personnel management (4th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Cox, T., Jr. (1993). Cultural diversity in organizations: Theory, research, and practice. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.

Cox, T., Jr. , & Blake, S. (1991). Managing cultural diversity: Implications for organizational effectiveness. Academy of Management Executive, 5, 45-56.

Cronbach, C. J. , Gleser, G. C. , Nanda, H. , & Rajaratnam, N. (1972). The dependability of behavioral measurements: Theory of generalizability for scores and profiles. New York: Wiley.

Crowne, D. , & Marlowe, D. (1964). The approval motive. New York: Wiley.

Cudeck, R. (1989). Analysis of correlation matrices using covariance structure models. Psychological Bulletin, 105, 317-327.

Jackson, S. (1992). Diversity in the workplace: Human resource initiatives. New York: Guilford.

Jackson, S. A. , Brett, J. F. , Sessa, V. I. , Cooper, D. M. , Julin, J. A. , & Peyronnin, K. (1991). Some differences make a difference: Individual dissimilarity and group heterogeneity as correlates of recruitment, promotions, and turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 675-689.

10.

Johnston, W. B. , & Packer, A. E. (1987). Work force 2000: Work and workers for the 21st century. Indianapolis, IN: Hudson Institute.

11.

Jöreskog, K. G. , & Sorbom, D. (1993a). New features in LISREL 8. Chicago: Scientific Software.

12.

Jöreskog, K. G. , & Sorbom, D. (1993b). New features in PRELIS2. Chicago: Scientific Software.

13.

Montei, M. S. , Jex, S. M. , King, L. A. , & Love, K. G. (1994, April). Workgroup diversity and turnover intentions: A test of potential mediators. Paper presented at the annual meeting for the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Nashville, TN.

14.

Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.

15.

Roberson, L. , & Gutierrez, N. C. (1992). Beyond good faith: Commitment to recruiting management diversity at Pacific Bell. In S. A. Jackson (Ed.), Diversity in the workplace: Human resource initiatives (pp. 65-88). New York: Guilford.

16.

Sessa, V. (1992). Managing diversity at the Xerox Corporation: Balanced work force goals and caucus groups. In S. A. Jackson (Ed.), Diversity in the workplace: Human resource initiatives (pp. 37-64). New York: Guilford.

17.

Towers Perrin & Hudson Institute. (1990). Workforce 2000: Competing in a seller's market-Is corporate America prepared? Valhalla, NY: Towers Perrin.

18.

U.S. Department of Labor. (1992). Employment and earnings. Washington, DC: Author.