In-group and out-group attitudes of Muslim children

a r t i c l e i n f o Although negative stereotypes towards Muslims escalated after the events of September 11th, little is known about how Muslim children think about their own group members. Therefore, the current study examined Muslim children's attitudes towards Muslims and non-Muslims. Sixty-five 5-to 8-year-old Muslim children, enrolled in an Islamic school, engaged in two tasks. In the attribution task, children rated pictures of Muslims and non-Muslims on an adjective bipolar scale containing positive and negative adjectives. In the preference task, children were asked who they preferred as a neighbor, teacher, and friend. Children made more positive attributions for Muslims than non-Muslims, with young children providing more negative evaluations of non-Muslims than older children. Children also preferred Muslims as potential teachers, neighbors, and friends. Implications of Muslim children's attitudes towards in-group and out-group members are discussed. Introduction In the aftermath of September 11th, negative stereotypes towards Muslim individuals escalated across the nation (Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), 2006). Many Americans held lingering resentment and reservations towards Muslim-Americans, which was reinforced by what millions of Americans saw on television Much of the media portrayed images of Muslims as uncivilized, brutal, heartless, religious fanatics who only care for wealth and power (Shaheen, 2003). In 2006, CAIR found that approximately 1 in 4 Americans believe that Islam is a religion of hatred and violence. In addition, when asked about the first thought that comes to mind when hearing the word 'Muslim,' 26% of Americans reported words such as violence, hatred, terrorists, war, guns, and rag-heads (CAIR, 2006). Moreover, objects or symbols related to the word 'Muslim,' such as the hijab (i.e., female head covering) and emblematic structures, were frequently identified to initiate hate victimization (Hendricks et al., 2007). As a result, approximately 83% of Muslim individuals reported an increase in implicit racism and discrimination following September 11th, with " hearing or being told an offensive joke " as the most commonly endorsed experience (Sheridan, 2006). Such discrimination could pose a great threat to young Muslim-Americans' identity development. Indeed, members of minority groups often strive to find an appropriate balance between identifying with their country (or their parents' country) of origin and their host country (Deaux, 2000). Moreover, balancing one's identity becomes especially difficult when an individual living in a host country is targeted for being a member of an out-group. In such cases, the individual must decide …