Development of the Internalized Classism Scale

Social class and classism are constructs often used to convey information about one’s objective indicators of financial status and/or attitudes and beliefs associated with a particular position. However, such definitions do not account for one’s own views regarding their social class position (Liu, 2011b). A subjective understanding of social class suggests that classism may include negative attitudes and beliefs that one has about those in higher social class positions, lower social class positions, and the same social class positions (Liu, 2011b). It also recognizes that classist attitudes and beliefs can be internalized, such that individuals who experience internalized classism may have psychological difficulties as a result (Liu, 2011a, 2011b). The current study sought to develop a measure of internalized classism, which represents the first and only known measure of internalized classism to date. Results from the present sample provided support for a measure, the Internalized Classism Scale (ICS), and provided preliminary evidence of reliability and validity among the present sample. This measure could be used in future research to gain a better understanding of how internalized classism may impact an individual at multiple levels, including their psychological health and wellbeing, physical health, job productivity, and many others.