Intergroup attitudes among youth addressed by leading development and social psychologists

Cross-group friendships have a positive effect on intergroup attitudes among children and adolescents, according to a new issue of the International Journal of Behavioral Development, published this month.

A collection of twelve wide-ranging papers from developmental and social psychologists, the themed issue addresses the establishment of intergroup attitudes and social exclusion in childhood and adolescence, the development of social identity, and the reduction of children's intergroup bias. The articles provide a new insight into how prejudice derives from a person's development, examining where bad intergroup relations come from, and how children's intergroup bias can be reduced. The findings suggest a positive relationship between cross-group friendships and intergroup attitudes:

“…dual identity (i.e. attachment to a subgroup and a shared common group) may be instrumental in promoting positive intergroup attitudes” (Rutland, Abrams and Levy 2007).

"Intergroup relations remains the issue of our time,” commented William Bukowski, Editor, International Journal of Behavioral Development. “The initial proposal itself landed on my desk on the same day of the July 2005 London bombings, which highlights the urgency and importance of this topic, and the insights these papers can give to improving intergroup relations among children and adolescents.”