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Adolescent development of interethnic attitudes following a social intervention to increase intergroup contact: The moderating role of affective forecasting

van Zalk, M.H.W.; Kotzur, P.F.; Schmid, K.; Al Ramiah, A.; Hewstone, M.

Adolescent development of interethnic attitudes following a social intervention to increase intergroup contact: The moderating role of affective forecasting Thumbnail


Authors

M.H.W. van Zalk

K. Schmid

A. Al Ramiah

M. Hewstone



Abstract

This longitudinal, quasi-experimental field study investigated affective forecasting as a moderator of positive intergroup contact effects among adolescents. We also examined a novel mediating mechanism that underlies this effect, namely accuracy of perceived outgroup willingness for intergroup contact. Three annual waves of survey data were used from 1,169 adolescents (Mage = 13.88 at Wave 1; 50% girls; 66% White British, 44% Asian British) whose schools were merged, in a unique intervention that resulted in one school where ethnic groups were evenly mixed (i.e., balanced school) and two White British majority schools (i.e., majority skewed schools). Results showed that positive intergroup contact and attitudes improved more in the balanced school than in the majority skewed schools. In all schools, change in adolescents’ positive intergroup contact predicted change in positive intergroup attitudes indirectly via (a) increased accuracy of perceived outgroup willingness for contact and (b) reduced intergroup anxiety. Indirect effects via accuracy of perceived contact willingness were stronger for adolescents who made more negative affective forecasts than for other adolescents. These moderated mediation effects were stronger in the balanced school than in the majority skewed schools. Thus, more balanced ethnic mixing in schools seemed to directly enhance positive intergroup relations and attitudes for all adolescents, but to particularly benefit adolescents who made more negative affective forecasts about positive contact before the school merger. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Citation

van Zalk, M., Kotzur, P., Schmid, K., Al Ramiah, A., & Hewstone, M. (2021). Adolescent development of interethnic attitudes following a social intervention to increase intergroup contact: The moderating role of affective forecasting. Developmental Psychology, 57(6), 1000-1017. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001194

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date 2021-06
Deposit Date Aug 30, 2021
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Developmental Psychology
Print ISSN 0012-1649
Electronic ISSN 0012-1649
Publisher American Psychological Association
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 57
Issue 6
Pages 1000-1017
DOI https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001194

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Copyright Statement
© American Psychological Association, 2021. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. The final article is available, upon publication, at: https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001194




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