White privilege in neuropsychology: An ‘invisible knapsack’ in need of unpacking?

Abstract

Objective

A persistent and growing challenge to the field of neuropsychology is the disconnect between: (a) the increasingly culturally/linguistically diverse populations in need of clinical and research evaluations and (b) a neuropsychology workforce and ‘toolkit’ of validated instruments and norms that remain generally ill-prepared to address these needs. This disconnect threatens the future clinical utility and professional viability of the field, and may at least in part be related to white privilege. This commentary describes a qualitative examination of white privilege in neuropsychology, its implications for the field, and recommendations to move forward.

Method

Utilizing McIntosh’s paradigm of “unpacking the invisible knapsack of white privilege,” this author (a non-Hispanic White, Spanish-English bilingual man) conducted an idiographic, qualitative examination of ways in which non-Hispanic White neuropsychologists may experience unearned and largely invisible (unexamined) privilege.

Conclusions

The present examination suggests that white privilege within the field of neuropsychology may perpetuate health care disparities relevant to practice and research and the field’s insufficient systemic response to its longstanding challenges related to workforce demographics and psychometric instrumentation. To ensure future clinical utility and professional viability, it is imperative that neuropsychology as a field, and particularly the non-Hispanic White majority of its membership and organizational leaders, unpack its invisible knapsack of privilege and acknowledge the ways in which such privilege can insidiously compromise individual and systemic responses to the ongoing crisis of insufficient workforce characteristics, psychometric tools, and empirical research basis to address increasing patient diversity and neuropsychological health care disparities.

Keywords:

• White privilege
• diversity
• inclusion
• culture
• race/ethnicity
• cultural neuropsychology
• universalism

Acknowledgements

The author would like to extend his sincere appreciation to Monica Rivera Mindt, Ph.D., ABPP-CN and Robin Hilsabeck, Ph.D., ABPP-CN for their invitation and encouragement to produce this commentary as well as for their generous time and attention during the writing and revision process of this work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 Page numbers of the original 1989 publication ranged from 10-12. However, the article has been reproduced various times, even by McIntosh, such that page numbers for quotes in this present article are difficult to reference to the original.