Dr Angelika Love, University of Oxford

Building Bridges, Blurring Boundaries: The Contribution of Multiethnic Individuals to Intergroup Relations

The growth of multiethnic populations is challenging the well-rehearsed view that people are either ingroup or outgroup members. It is therefore increasingly important to incorporate mixed identity populations into research on intergroup relations. Using a combination of multilevel social network and survey data, we studied the involvement of multiethnic individuals in intergroup relationship processes. In this presentation, I will address the question whether multiethnic individuals can build bridges between monoethnic groups. I will present findings from two complimentary approaches to research on social bridges: a socio-structural approach, regarding multiethnic individuals’ location within their wider friendship networks; and the more established intergroup contact perspective.

Our social network analyses suggested that multiethnic individuals often connect members of the monoethnic groups that converge in their mixed identity. Furthermore, multi-level longitudinal and cross-sectional analyses suggested that contact with multiethnic individuals could bridge the intergroup divide by facilitating more positive intergroup relations. Evidence for positive direct contact effects on prejudice was weak. However reliable secondary transfer effects (see Lolliot et al., 2013) suggest alternative indirect routes to improved intergroup relations via multiethnic peers.