Abstract
US majority (European-American) and minority (African-American, Latin-American, Asian-American) children were interviewed regarding race-based and non-race based reasons for exclusion in interracial peer contexts (N = 685), evenly divided by gender at 9, 12, and 15 years of age (4th, 7th, and 10th grades) attending 13 US public schools. All children judged race-based exclusion as wrong using moral reasons. In contrast, non-race based reasons such as lack of shared interests, parental discomfort, and peer pressure were viewed as more wrong by minority children than by majority children. This pattern decreased with age for all participants. Further minority children were more likely to expect that racial exclusion occurs, indicating that ethnic background, social experience, and age are significantly related to interpretations of interracial peer motives for exclusion.
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