The longitudinal relationship between youth intergroup contact and social cohesion outcomes in two divided societies

Shelley McKeown Jones*, Daniel Schaefer, Shazza Ali, Pier-Luc Dupont, David J Manley, Sumedh Rao, Laura K. Taylor, Rose Meleady

*Corresponding author for this work

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

Abstract

Intergroup contact has long been established as a prejudice-reduction tool in divided societies, with contact being particularly effective during adolescence. A large proportion of evidence, however, draws on cross-sectional surveys or analytical approaches that do not distinguish between- and within-person effects. In the present research, we address this by exploring the potential of intergroup contact longitudinally on social cohesion related outcomes amongst youth (aged 14-19) in Belfast (Study 1, N = 231) and Bradford (Study 2, N = 169). Measures included intergroup contact, outgroup attitudes, intergroup anxiety, outgroup empathy, and outgroup prosocial behaviour across three time-points. Using Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models, results demonstrate between-person associations of contact with our outcomes, but limited within-person changes. Our findings demonstrate the potential and limitations of intergroup contact for social cohesion related outcomes for youth growing up in divided societies, pointing to the need for developmental-focused future research.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages16
JournalEuropean Journal of Social Psychology
Early online date14 Oct 2024
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 14 Oct 2024

Bibliographical note

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

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