The development and initial validation of the Environmental Justice Advocacy Scale

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation was to develop and conduct initial validation procedures for the Environmental Justice Advocacy Scale (EJAS). Environmental justice refers to the equitable distribution of environmental risks and benefits across diverse groups in terms of the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws and regulations. Environmental justice advocacy involves efforts to organize communities and collaborate with policymakers to prevent or remediate environmental injustice. The findings of three studies are presented and describe reliability, concurrent and discriminant validity, and internal structural validity analyses. A national sample of graduate students, practitioners, and faculty in the specialties of counseling psychology, counseling, and social work were surveyed ( n = 43, n = 294, and n = 295, respectively). Study 1 addresses initial scale development procedures that resulted in a 47-item measure. In Study 2, an exploratory factor analysis suggested a three-factor structure (Attitudes, Knowledge, and Skills) with excellent reliability and strong concurrent and discriminant validity. The results indicated that two of the subscales were correlated ( r = .16 and r = .1 6, p < .01) with a measure of social desirability. In Study 3, a confirmatory factor analysis failed to replicate the three-factor model. However, four factors (Attitudes, Knowledge-General Environmental Justice, Knowledge-Psychological and Physical Health Environmental Justice, and Skills) explained a statistically significant amount of variance in question items. Suggestions for modification of the measure and recommendations for future research, training, and practice related to environmental justice advocacy for mental health professionals are provided.