Alaina Brenick

An empirical investigation was conducted of young Palestinian, Jordanian, Israeli-Palestinian, and Israeli-Jewish children's (N = 433; M = 5.7 years of age) cultural stereotypes and their evaluations of peer intergroup exclusion based upon a number of different factors, including being from a different country and speaking a different language. Children in this study live in a geographical region that has a history of cultural and religious tension, violence, and extreme intergroup conflict. Our findings revealed that the negative consequences of living with intergroup tension are related to the use of stereotypes. At the same time, the results for moral judgments and evaluations about excluding peers provided positive results about the young children's inclusive views regarding peer interactions.

Cultural group identity and group norms are significantly related to social exclusion evaluations (Bennett, 2014). This study examined 241 Jewish-American mid (M = 14.18 years, SD = 0.42) to late (M = 17.21 years, SD = 0.43; M ageTOTAL = 15.54 years, SD = 1.57) adolescents' cultural identities and contextually salient perceived group norms in relation to their evaluations of Arab-American inclusion and exclusion across two contexts (peers vs. family at home). Results suggest that perceived group norms are related to the context in which they are applied: parents in the home and peers in the peer context. Peers remained a significant source of perceived group norms in the home context. Significant interactions emerged between perceived parent group norms and cultural identity. Findings highlight the need to address group-specific norms by context to ensure maximum effectiveness for intergroup interventions.

An empirical investigation was conducted of young Palestinian, Jordanian, Israeli-Palestinian, and Israeli-Jewish children's (N = 433; M = 5.7 years of age) cultural stereotypes and their evaluations of peer intergroup exclusion based upon a number of different factors, including being from a different country and speaking a different language. Children in this study live in a geographical region that has a history of cultural and religious tension, violence, and extreme intergroup conflict. Our findings revealed that the negative consequences of living with intergroup tension are related to the use of stereotypes. At the same time, the results for moral judgments and evaluations about excluding peers provided positive results about the young children's inclusive views regarding peer interactions.

This study examined adolescents' attitudes about video games along with their self-reported play frequency. Ninth and eleventh grade students (N = 361), approximately evenly divided by grade and gender, were surveyed about whether video games have stereotypic images, involve harmful consequences or affect one's attitudes, whether game playing should be regulated by parents or the government, and whether game playing is a personal choice. Adolescents who played video games frequently showed decreased concern about the effects that games with negatively stereotyped images may have on the players' attitudes compared to adolescents who played games infrequently or not at all. With age, adolescents were more likely to view images as negative, but were also less likely to recognize stereotypic images of females as harmful and more likely to judge video-game playing as a personal choice. The paper discusses other findings in relation to research on adolescents' social cogni...

In order to assess the effects of displacement and exposure to violence on children's moral reasoning, Colombian children exposed to minimal violence (non-displaced or low-risk) (N = 99) and to extreme violence (displaced or high-risk) (N = 94), evenly divided by gender, at 6-, 9-, and 12 - years of age, were interviewed regarding their evaluation of peer-oriented moral transgressions (hitting and not sharing toys). The vast majority of children evaluated moral transgressions as wrong. Group and age differences were revealed, however, regarding provocation and retaliation. Children who were exposed to violence, in contrast to those with minimum exposure, judged it more legitimate to inflict harm or deny resources when provoked and judged it more okay to retaliate for reasons of retribution. Surprisingly, and somewhat hopefully, all children viewed reconciliation as feasible. The results are informative regarding theories of morality, culture, and the effects of violence on child...

Increasingly, adolescents are growing up in multiethnic multicultural societies. While intergroup pre- judice can threaten the multicultural societal cohesion, intergroup friendships are strong predictors of reduced prejudice. Thus, more research is needed to fully under- stand the development of intergroup friendships and their relations to less prejudicial attitudes. This study addressed two major developmental research questions: first, whether longitudinal patterns of intergroup friendships of native adolescents (i.e., whether or not a native German adoles- cent has a friendship with an immigrant at different points in time) relate to changes in rates of prejudice about immigrants. Second, whether these friendship patterns that unfold over time can be predicted by contact opportunities, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral con- trol assessed at the beginning of the study. The sample included 372 native German adolescents (14.7 years of age at first assessment, 62.3 % girls) who showed one of four friendship trajectories over the three annual assessments: they either maintained, gained, never had, or lost a friendship with an outgroup peer. In particular, results showed that adolescents who gained an intergroup friend- ship over the three time points showed a significant decrease in negative prejudice over the study. All four theorized predictors contributed to explain friendship trajectory membership. Generally, adolescents with many opportunities for contact, positive attitudes about contact, perceived positive social norms for contact, and high levels of behavioral control (self-efficacy) were more likely to maintain a friendship with an outgroup member than to follow any of the three other friendship trajectories (gain, lost, or never had). The pattern of predictions differed, however, depending on the specific pairs of friendship trajectories compared.

Interethnic friendships between students are important for harmonious intercultural rela- tions at school. Drawing on research on intergroup contact and cultural distance between immigrant and non-immigrant groups, we examined how structural and normative condi- tions in the classroom context are associated with friendships between early adolescents with and without an immigrant background in ethnically heterogeneous schools. The sam- ple comprised 842 students (Mage = 11.50 years, SDage = .71; 53% male) attending multiethnic schools in Southwest Germany.
Results revealed that perceived positive contact norms in class and perceived cultural distance predicted friendships between immigrant and non-immigrant students in both groups, even when the ethnic composition of the classroom was taken into account. The associations were largely the same for immigrants and non-immigrants. We conclude that interventions to foster interethnic friendships should aim to reduce perceptions of cultural distance and monitor and improve contact norms in intergroup settings.

Changes in child safety knowledge concerning bullying, boundary-setting, and help-seeking were evaluated after participation in the Kidpower Everyday Safety Skills Program (ESSP), a workshop designed to increase children’s knowledge of safe choices. The program consisted of an in-school workshop, weekly follow-up sessions, and homework assignments over 10 weeks and included skills-training, parental involvement, and opportunities to practice safety skills. Third-grade students (n = 128) participated in pre- and post-tests of safety skills, and were compared to a comparison group (n = 110) that did not participate in the program. Findings indicate that students who participated had increases in safety knowledge (maintained for 3 months) greater than the comparison group. Additional assessments indicate that the program was implemented with high fidelity and both teachers and students found the program successful. Children’s understanding of the competency areas boundary-setting, stranger safety, help-seeking, and maintaining calmness and confidence improved.

Perceived discrimination is a substantial challenge for immigrant youth trying to adapt to a new home. The present study examined the independent and interactive relations between individual and school level variables in determining ethnic German migrant (Aussiedler) youths’ perceptions of discrimination. 643 Aussiedler adolescents (M = 15.7) from 28 schools across Germany self-reported their orientation toward ingroup relationships, perceived native segregation orientation, and perceived discrimination. 814 native German adolescents from the same schools reported their negative attitudes about Aussiedlers. Natives’ negative attitudes about Aussiedlers aggregated by school, was used as school level predictor variable, together with the share of Aussiedler students per school. With all variables included in multilevel analyses, the individual level associations were not significant, but both school level associations and 3 cross-level interactions were significant. Aussiedler adolescents reported higher levels of discrimination in schools with higher shares of Aussiedler and in schools with more negative attitudes toward Aussiedler. The association between immigrant ingroup orientation and perceived discrimination was stronger in schools with fewer Aussiedler. The association between perceived native segregation orientation and perceived discrimination was stronger in schools with more Aussiedler and in schools with more negative attitudes about Aussiedler. The findings indicate the importance of interaction between individual and contextual variables in understanding the ways in which adolescent immigrants come to perceive discrimination.

Research findings: An empirical investigation was conducted to test young Palestinian, Jordanian, Israeli-Palestinian, and Israeli-Jewish children’s (N = 433; M = 5.7 years of age) cultural stereotypes and their evaluations of peer intergroup exclusion based upon a number of different factors, including being from a different country and speaking a different language. Children in this study live in a geographical region that has a history of cultural and religious tension, violence, and extreme intergroup conflict. Our findings revealed that the negative consequences of living with intergroup tension are related to the use of stereotypes. At the same time, the results for moral judgments and evaluations about excluding peers provided positive results about the young children’s inclusive views regarding peer interactions. Practice: These findings indicate that practitioners working with young children should focus on inclusion in peer contexts. Curricula, media, and social intervention programs must begin in early childhood before children begin to use stereotypes in peer situations, particularly when children from other cultural and ethnic backgrounds play together.