Racial identification and preference in ‚black' British children

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Abstract
The aim of this study was to discover whether the pattern of out‐group oriented racial attitudes manifest among the children of various disadvantaged minority‐groups (e.g. black American children) might also be found among the children of ‚coloured' immigrants to Britain. To this end, measures of racial identification, preference, rudimentary stereotyping and social aspirations were administered to primary school children whose parents were of West Indian and Asian origin, and to native white English children for purposes of comparison. While the English children showed attitudes which consistently favoured the in‐group, both immigrant groups evidenced marked out‐group (i.e. white) orientation. One‐quarter of the Asian children and nearly one‐half of the West Indian children identified themselves with the white out‐group. The phenomenon of misidentification among children of disadvantaged racial minorities is discussed, and explanations of the difference between the West Indian and Asian groups in this respect are suggested in terms of their differing cultural backgrounds and practices, aspirations to integration, and relationship to the host community. The results of the study are reported in the context of the continuing debate over the effect of the race of the tester in racial attitude research.