Interethnic prejudice in children is a widely researched topic when it comes to the perspective of the White majority group on ethnic minority groups. The perspective of ethnic minorities towards...Show moreInterethnic prejudice in children is a widely researched topic when it comes to the perspective of the White majority group on ethnic minority groups. The perspective of ethnic minorities towards the White majority group, however, has been studied less often. Especially in the Netherlands this research is rare. Inspired by social learning theory, the current study examines if there is a relationship between parental tolerance for interethnic contact and children’s ethnic prejudice towards the White majority group among families from two large ethnic minority groups (Afro-/Turkish-Dutch) in the Netherlands, and whether this relationship varies based on parents preparing children for bias. Here, we hypothesize that higher parental tolerance for interethnic contact is related to diminished prejudice of ethnic minority children towards children from the White majority group. In addition, preparation for bias is expected to weaken the relationship between parental tolerance and children’s prejudice among the ethnic minority group. This study uses data from the first wave of Leiden University's longitudinal research into the parenting origins of children’s ethnic prejudice. The study includes a subsample of 77 children aged 6 to 10 years (M = 7.8, SD = 0.99) and their mothers. The families have been recruited in the Western region of the Netherlands (Randstad) and are of Afro-Dutch and Turkish-Dutch descent. Parental attitudes were measured using questionnaires, whereas children’s ethnic prejudice was measured using an adapted version of the Preschool Racial Attitude Measure task. Using a hierarchical multiple regression analysis and controlling for children’s interethnic contact with White children, no significant relation was found (p = .22) between parental tolerance and children’s ethnic prejudice towards White children. Furthermore, this relation was not affected by high or low levels of preparation for bias (p = .25). The hypotheses were not confirmed. Relations between parental attitudes and children’s ethnic prejudice may operate differently in ethnic minority families than in White families. More research into this topic is required.Show less
It is known that adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disability (MBID) take more risks than typically developing adolescents. To gain more knowledge in which factors underlies this...Show moreIt is known that adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disability (MBID) take more risks than typically developing adolescents. To gain more knowledge in which factors underlies this increased risk-taking, this study investigated whether inhibition capacity is a predicting factor of susceptibility to peer influence in adolescents with MBID. To investigate this, a group with adolescents with MBID was compared to a typically developing control group. The sample comprised of 27 completed questionnaires, the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART; in a peer or solo condition), assessing risk taking and a stop signal task (SST) assessing inhibition. Analyses indicated that (a) risk taking behavior increased when manipulated with peer influence; (b) peer effects were not different for adolescents with MBID than typically developing adolescents; (c) adolescents with MBID showed no lower inhibition response compared to adolescents without MBID and (c) inhibition was not a predictor for increased susceptibility to peer influence. Surprisingly, these findings were not consistent with our hypotheses. However, this is the first study investigating the underlying mechanisms for susceptibility to peer influence in adolescents with MBID. Results of this study may serve as key directions for future research.Show less
Stroop-like tests measure the ability to control interference created by irrelevant stimuli when one is asked to focus on a specific task. This study aimed to answer whether the interference...Show moreStroop-like tests measure the ability to control interference created by irrelevant stimuli when one is asked to focus on a specific task. This study aimed to answer whether the interference observed during a Stroop-like task is caused by individual differences, which could be done by measuring the stability of the reaction times and interference effect within one session of a Stroop-like task (by dividing the session in two halves). It was hypothesized that both reaction times and interference effect would be stable within one session, with the exception of children under 7 years old, whose ability to control interference is not fully developed yet. The data of previously administered four Stroop-like tasks (color-object; position-object; number-object; and picture-word) in children, adolescents, and young adults, was used and analyzed to address these questions. The results of this study confirmed only the hypothesis for reaction times, while there was an inconsistency in the results of interference effect. The same pattern was observed for the younger children of this study, as they showed a difference from the remaining age groups in reaction times but inconsistency in interference effect. Further exploration is needed in order to understand why interference effect did not show stability within a session of a Stroop-like task.Show less
