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Environmental and Family Associations With Racism 1
Author(s) -
Smith Shan Toney,
Ross Lisa Thomson
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.0021-9029.2006.00126.x
Subject(s) - racism , psychology , social psychology , liberal arts education , scale (ratio) , gender studies , sociology , higher education , geography , political science , cartography , law
Environmental and family factors related to racism in college students were investigated. Students ( N =114) at a southern liberal‐arts college filled out an extensive survey about childhood activities and family of origin, and 40 of their mothers completed a similar survey. The Attitudes Toward Blacks (Brigham, 1993) scale measured racism. Several hypotheses were supported. Students who exhibited less racism also reported that they made more diverse friends in school, came from a more diverse hometown, had diverse encounters and friendships at an earlier age, and had more positive foreign travel experiences. In addition, more racist students perceived their mothers as being more prejudiced while they were growing up, and they perceived their fathers as being more prejudiced currently. Finally, students judged their mothers as less racist than their fathers, and also reported that their mothers exhibited less racist behaviors than did their fathers. The importance of racially diverse experiences and friendships early in life are discussed as means to decrease racism.