Skip to main content

1996 - The Effect of Childhood Interracial Contact on Adult Antiblack Prejudice

Attribution: Wood, Peter B., & Sonleitner, Nancy
Researchers: Nancy SonleitnerPeter B. Wood
University Affiliation: University of Eastern Michigan
Email: peter.wood@emich.edu
Research Question:
Does desegregation have any measureable effect on racial prejudice? Does childhood interracial contact have any lasting effect on adult prejudice?
Published: 1
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: International Journal of Intercultural Relations
Journal Entry: Vol. 20, pp. 1-17
Year: 1996
Findings:
  • Childhood interracial contact has a significant, negative association with adult anti-Black prejudice and stereotype adherence.
  • Anti-Black prejudice is most strongly associated with stereotype adherence and education.
  • Anti-Black prejudice is most influenced by stereotype adherence, education, age, and past contact, in descending order.
  • The relationship between past contact and age is the strongest bivariate correlation, indicating that childhood interracial contact increased significantly during the last two decades.
  • Childhood interracial contact has a significant effect on stereotype adherence, absent controls.
  • When control variables are in place, past contact remains significant.
  • Second to income, childhood contact has the strongest influence on adult stereotype adherence.
  • Childhood interracial contact has a significant negative effect on anti-Black prejudice, absent controls.
  • When controlling for age and education, childhood contact is still significant.
  • When stereotype adherence is included in the analysis as an intervening variable, childhood contact still has a significant and direct effect on adult anti-Black prejudice.
  • Education and age also have a significant direct effect when stereotyping is included in the analysis.
Keywords: Contact TheoryDesegregationIntergroup RelationsRegions: SouthMethodologies: QuantitativeResearch Designs: SurveyAnalysis Methods: Regression Sampling Frame:Oklahoma City
Sampling Types: RandomAnalysis Units: IndividualData Types: Quantitative-Cross Sectional
Data Description:
  • The data are from the 1991 Oklahoma City Survey administered by the Sociology department of the University of OK.
  • The randomly selected sample consisted of 389 adults in OK City.
  • The survey was given via face-to-face interviews.
  • This study includes only 292 White respondents in 1991.
  • Factor analysis and reliability analysis are used to construct the predictor variables and the dependent variable from the survey items.
  • IV: Childhood interracial contact and stereotype adherence. The control variables are gender, age, education, income, and occupational prestige.
  • DV: Anti-Black prejudice
Theoretical Framework:
Relevance:
Archives: K-12 Integration, Desegregation, and Segregation Abstracts
Skip to toolbar