The Structure of Black and White Attitudes toward Police

Examined are differences between blacks & whites in attitudes toward police & police service in 4 neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Pa. Primary emphasis is on structural differences between black & white attitudes & how these structures contribute to the understanding of quantifiable differences in individual attitudinal responses. Extensive sociometric & attitudinal data were collected for a sample of 273 citizens. The attitudinal data, which had been examined previously through basic descriptive statistics, were reexamined through a number of multivariate statistical techniques, including factor analysis & multidimensional scaling. The findings indicate that attitudinal differences between blacks & whites are partially a reflection of varying attitudinal clusters as measured by these multidimensional procedures. It was evident that blacks & whites did not respond in similar ways to the same attitudinal questionnaire. Results thus suggest that future attitudinal research should consider not only the magnitude of individual attitude differences but also the composition of attitude structures. 2 Figures. AA.