Intergroup contact experience and frequency as predictors of cross-racial attitudes

Abstract

This study examined the relationships between contact frequency, experiences of intergroup contact and a number of demographic intergroup variables. A telephone survey was conducted among 544 blacks (57.5% male; 42.5% female) and 478 whites (44.6% male; 55.4% female). Three CHAID models with attitudes towards blacks and Afrikaans-speaking and English-speaking whites as dependant variables were investigated. Contact experience rather than frequency was the most significant predictor of racial attitudes. Age and geographical location were significant predictors of black attitudes towards the two white groups. A complex web of factors seems to influence intergroup relations in culturally heterogeneous societies.