Developmental Dynamics of Intergroup Contact and Intergroup Attitudes: Long-Term Effects in Adolescence and Early Adulthood

2016/09/01 by Ralf Wölfer, Katharina Schmid, Miles Hewstone +1 · 123 citations
Computer Science · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Cohort #Contact hypothesis #Contact theory #Developmental psychology #Dynamics (music) #Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection #Latent growth modeling #Prejudice (legal term) #Psychology #Social Media and Politics #Social and Intergroup Psychology #Social contact #Social psychology

paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/cdev.12598

published in Child Development 87(5), 1466-1478 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2016/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/26

Abstract

Intergroup contact represents a powerful way to improve intergroup attitudes and to overcome prejudice and discrimination. However, long-term effects of intergroup contact that consider social network dynamics have rarely been studied at a young age. Study 1 validated an optimized social network approach to investigate intergroup contact (N = 6,457; Mage = 14.91 years). Study 2 explored the developmental trajectories of intergroup contact by applying this validated network approach in a cross-sequential design (four-cohort-four-wave; N = 3,815; 13-26 years). Accelerated growth curve models showed that contact predicts the development of attitudes in adolescence, whereas acquired attitudes buffer against decreasing contact in adulthood. Findings highlight the potential of social network analysis and the developmental importance of early intergroup contact experiences.

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