Ethnic composition of school classes, majority-minority friendships, and adolescents' intergroup attitudes in the Netherlands.
The relationships between the proportion of ethnic minority adolescents in school classes, the proportion and quality of majority-minority friendships and intergroup attitudes were examined using multi-level analysis (N = 2386 adolescents in 117 school classes in the Netherlands). In school classes with high proportions of ethnic minority adolescents, both ethnic majority and ethnic minority adolescents reported more negative out-group attitudes. Moreover, in these school classes, ethnic majority adolescents showed more positive in-group attitudes, whereas ethnic minority adolescents showed less positive in-group attitudes. The proportion of majority-minority friendships was related to less negative out-group attitudes for ethnic majority adolescents only. The quality of majority-minority friendships was related to less negative out-group and in-group attitudes for both the ethnic majority and ethnic minority adolescents. The results are discussed in the light of contact theory and ethnic competition theory.
Vervoort
Miranda H M
MH
Department of Sociology/ICS, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80140, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands. m.vervoort@uu.nl
Scholte
Ron H J
RH
Scheepers
Peer L H
PL
D000293:Adolescent; D001290:Attitude; D002648:Child; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups; D009426:Netherlands; D010379:Peer Group; D013334:Students