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Developmental Dynamics of Intergroup Contact and Intergroup Attitudes: Long‐Term Effects in Adolescence and Early Adulthood
Author(s) -
Wölfer Ralf,
Schmid Katharina,
Hewstone Miles,
Zalk Maarten
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/cdev.12598
Subject(s) - psychology , social contact , prejudice (legal term) , developmental psychology , latent growth modeling , contact theory , dynamics (music) , young adult , social psychology , pedagogy , structural engineering , engineering
Intergroup contact represents a powerful way to improve intergroup attitudes and to overcome prejudice and discrimination. However, long‐term effects of intergroup contact that consider social network dynamics have rarely been studied at a young age. Study 1 validated an optimized social network approach to investigate intergroup contact ( N = 6,457; M age = 14.91 years). Study 2 explored the developmental trajectories of intergroup contact by applying this validated network approach in a cross‐sequential design (four‐cohort–four‐wave; N = 3,815; 13–26 years). Accelerated growth curve models showed that contact predicts the development of attitudes in adolescence, whereas acquired attitudes buffer against decreasing contact in adulthood. Findings highlight the potential of social network analysis and the developmental importance of early intergroup contact experiences.