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A prerequisite to anti-racist socialization in families is acknowledging ethnic-racial (power) differences, also known as color-consciousness. In a sample of 138 White Dutch families from the urban Western region of the Netherlands with children aged 6-10 years (53% girls), observations and questionnaires on maternal color-consciousness and measures of children's attitudes toward Black and Middle-Eastern ethnic-racial outgroups were collected in 2018-2019. Variable-centered analyses showed that maternal color-conscious socialization practices were related to less negative child outgroup attitudes only. Person-centered analysis revealed a cluster of families with higher maternal color-consciousness and less prejudiced child attitudes, and a cluster with the opposite pattern. The mixed results emphasize the importance of multiple methods and approaches in advancing scholarship on anti-racism in the family context.

Interethnic prejudice in children has been studied mostly among White and Black populations in the United States, but less among East Asian populations and Europe. Given that interethnic prejudice is sensitive to populations and contexts, research on previously neglected groups is needed. In the current study, interethnic prejudice is examined among Chinese‐Dutch children aged 7–11 years (N = 80, 42 girls and 38 boys), focusing on their preference for and rejection of East Asian, White, Southwest Asian and North African, and Black peers. In addition, interethnic prejudice is examined in relation to the COVID‐19 pandemic, a global crisis that has led to anti‐Asian racism. The results revealed that Chinese‐Dutch children evaluated their ethnic ingroup and the White outgroup most positively, and the Black outgroup least positively. Moreover, stronger ingroup affinity (in terms of lower ingroup rejection) among Chinese‐Dutch children was found during than before the COVID‐19 pandemic, highlighting the importance of situational influences on children's interethnic prejudice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study investigated the ethnic hierarchy in ingroup and outgroup preference and rejection among 6‐ to 10‐year‐old children of the dominant White Dutch group (n = 145), and the underrepresented Turkish‐Dutch (n = 78), and Afro‐Dutch (n = 57) groups (55% girls, M = 7.49, SD =.98) in the Netherlands. Results from a social preference task indicated that White Dutch children showed clearly more preference for their own ethnic group (ingroup preference) compared to the two outgroup preferences (Middle Eastern and Black), while Turkish‐ and Afro‐Dutch children showed limited ingroup preference. Both White and Turkish‐Dutch children showed less preference for and more rejection of the Black outgroup compared to Afro‐Dutch children. Younger children showed more Black rejection compared to older children. This study provides much‐needed evidence for the generalizability of prejudice patterns in children beyond the United States, and suggests that interventions aimed at improving interethnic relations are already relevant at primary school age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parental diversity ideologies are linked to their own interethnic prejudice, but how do they relate to children's prejudice? This study examined self‐reported endorsement of colorblind ideology and multiculturalism among mothers (138 White Dutch, 65 Turkish‐Dutch, and 45 Afro‐Dutch) of 6‐to 10‐year old children (55% girls), and its association with child interethnic prejudice. Endorsement of multiculturalism was lowest among White Dutch mothers, and endorsement of colorblind ideology was lowest among Afro‐Dutch mothers. Maternal endorsement of multiculturalism was negatively related to child outgroup prejudice among White Dutch families and among Turkish‐Dutch families in the context of underrepresented outgroups, and results suggest no or opposite associations for colorblind ideology. Future research should explore what parenting based on these ideologies looks like, but the present study points parents in the direction of a multicultural, rather than colorblind, approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnic diversity and interethnic contact are increasing in Europe. Intergroup contact theory suggests interethnic contact to improve interethnic attitudes, but for young children, parental attitudes toward child interethnic relations might be an important factor determining whether they are exposed to these potentially positive contact effects. This study therefore examined maternal attitudes toward child contact with different ethnic outgroups among 251 mothers (137 White Dutch, 69 Turkish-Dutch, and 45 Afro-Dutch) of a 6- to 10-year-old child (M = 7.51, SD = 0.98). Furthermore, associations between maternal attitudes toward child interethnic relations and child outgroup rejection were examined, as well as mediation effects of child actual outgroup contact. Neutral to positive maternal attitudes toward child interethnic relations were found, with relatively more negative attitudes among Turkish-Dutch than White Dutch and Afro-Dutch mothers, and toward child relations with Muslims as compared to another outgroup among White Dutch and Afro-Dutch mothers. Furthermore, results did not indicate that maternal attitudes were related to child actual outgroup contact or child outgroup prejudice and no support for the intergroup contact theory was found. These results suggest that intergroup contact theory does not easily apply, highlighting the need for more research on children in various populations and contexts using different measures and informants. Patterns from the present study suggest that most improvement in terms of maternal attitudes fostering child interethnic relations can be made in the interethnic relations including ethnic groups in the Netherlands that predominantly identify as Muslim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interethnic prejudice in children has been studied mostly in the United States, but less often in Europe, where the public discourse is increasingly negative about ethnic minorities, especially the Muslim minority. This study examined in-group favoritism (White preference) and out-group rejection of children of Middle Eastern descent (representing the Muslim minority) among White children in the Netherlands. Social preference for and rejection of children of Middle Eastern descent are compared with preference for and rejection of Black children. Social preference and rejection were measured using a task in which participants were presented with pictures of children with different ethnic appearances, and asked to select who they wanted to (not) play with, (not) sit next to, and invite for their birthday party. In addition, maternal implicit prejudice against people of Middle Eastern descent and explicit attitudes toward their children's interethnic contact were assessed. The study included 140 children aged 6 to 8 years (M = 7.26, SD = 0.77) and their mothers. The results reveal both in-group favoritism and out-group rejection. The Middle Eastern out-group was preferred less than the Black out-group. Reporting absolutely no reservations about children's interethnic contact by mothers was associated with less rejection of children of Middle Eastern descent. Findings reveal that young children already show interethnic prejudice and that particularly people of Middle Eastern descent are devalued. The results show that maternal acceptance of child interethnic contact seems to play a role, and provide starting points for further investigation of the relation between parental and child interethnic attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]