Capturing the Complexity of Adolescents’ Critical Reflection of Social Inequities Using Vignettes

Critical reflection on social inequities is central to critical consciousness (CC), yet existing quantitative measures may not fully capture its complexity. This study used a vignette-based approach to examine adolescents’ critical reflection. A sample of 214 ethnically diverse German adolescents (Mage = 15.84 years, SDage = 1.21; 45% male, 51% female, 3% non-binary, 1% missing) provided open-ended responses to two social inequity vignettes and completed quantitative CC scales. Coding open-ended vignette responses indicated that adolescents’ explanations for social inequities are multifaceted, mixed, and interlinked. The vignette-based measure demonstrated reliability and validity, i.e., expected relations with quantitative CC scales. Those with more books in the household and girls (vs. boys) demonstrated more integratively complex attributions for social inequities, with the latter also providing more structural attributions. The findings underline the potential of vignettes to capture the complexities and nuances of adolescents’ critical reflection on social inequities.