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.

中文翻译：

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白人荷兰儿童对穆斯林的种族间偏见

在美国，对儿童种族间偏见的研究大多在美国，但在欧洲却很少，在欧洲，公众对少数民族，尤其是穆斯林少数民族的言论越来越负面。这项研究检查了荷兰白人儿童中中东血统儿童（代表穆斯林少数群体）的群体内偏爱（白人偏爱）和群体外排斥。将社会对中东血统儿童的偏好和拒绝与黑人儿童的偏好和拒绝进行比较。社交喜好和拒绝是通过一项任务来衡量的，在该任务中，向参与者展示了具有不同种族外观的儿童的图片，并要求他们选择他们想（不想）与谁玩耍，（不要）坐在旁边并邀请他们参加生日聚会的人。此外，评估了母亲对中东血统的人的隐性偏见和对子女之间种族间接触的显式态度。该研究包括140名6至8岁的儿童（M = 7.26，SD = 0.77）及其母亲。结果显示组内偏爱和组外排斥。中东外群体比黑人外群体更受青睐。据报道，对于母亲与儿童之间的族裔间的联系绝对没有保留，这与拒绝中东血统的孩子有关。调查结果表明，幼儿已经表现出种族间的偏见，尤其是中东血统的人贬值。结果表明，母亲接受儿童的种族间接触似乎起到了作用，