The Longitudinal Effects of Intergroup Contact on Youth Attitudes Towards Ethnic Minorities and Constructive Societal Engagement

Christoph Daniel Schaefer, Shelley McKeown*, Shazza Ali, Pier‐Luc Dupont, David Manley, Sumedh Rao, Laura K. Taylor

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

Abstract

Growing empirical evidence demonstrates that intergroup contact has the potential to reap effects that go beyond prejudice reduction. Much of this evidence, however, is based on findings from cross‐sectional surveys. Building on the relatively smaller body of longitudinal intergroup contact research, we conduct a three‐time point survey amongst youth in Northern Ireland to determine whether frequent and good‐quality interactions with ethnic minority groups are associated with later reports on: (1) attitudes towards ethnic minorities, (2) prosocial behaviour towards ethnic minorities, and (3) civic engagement. Data were collected over the period of a school year amongst youth living in Belfast (n = 420, Mage; T1 = 14.9 years) and analysed using longitudinal path analyses and structural equation models in Mplus. Results demonstrate a lagged effect of higher‐quality contact on more positive attitudes towards ethnic minorities over the school year. There was also a lagged effect of more frequent contact on self‐reported prosocial behaviour in support of ethnic minorities. No lagged effects were observed of intergroup contact on civic engagement. Findings highlight the potential longitudinal effects of intergroup contact on attitudes and behaviours towards ethnic minorities.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere70026
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Community and Applied Social Psychology
Volume35
Issue number1
Early online date6 Dec 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Keywords

  • intergroup attitudes
  • prosocial behaviour
  • intergroup contact
  • youth
  • civic engagement

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