Testing intergroup contact theory through a natural experiment of randomized college roommate assignments in the United States.

Many colleges and universities seek to leverage the promise of intergroup contact theory by adopting housing policies that randomly assign first-year students to roommates, with the goal of increasing intergroup contact. Yet, it is unclear whether random roommate assignment policies increase cross-race contact, whether this (potentially involuntary, but sanctioned by authorities) contact improves racial attitudes or behaviors, or how these effects may differ for racial majority and minority students. The present studies used a natural experiment of random roommate assignment to directly test roommate relationship, attitudinal, and behavioral changes based on roommate race. Across three samples drawn from two student cohorts, the random assignment policy increased the likelihood that students had a cross-race roommate because without the policy, students tended to self-segregate by race. Moreover, selecting (Study 1) or being randomly assigned (Study 2) a cross-race roommate was associated with having more racial outgroup friends and demonstrating more positive verbal and nonverbal behavior during a novel cross-race interaction (Study 3). There were no roommate group (same vs. cross-race roommates) differences in relationship quality, and the results were largely independent of participant race. These findings suggest randomized roommate assignment is a promising avenue for universities to promote cross-race contact amid persistent racial segregation on college campuses with limited negative consequences for relationship quality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Personality traits as identity threat cues: Stigmatized perceivers infer prejudice from disagreeableness.

OBJECTIVE: Across four studies, we examined whether certain personality traits cue prejudice and serve as identity threat cues. BACKGROUND: Stigmatized group members may be vigilant to personality cues that signal prejudice. METHOD: In Study 1 (N = 76), perceivers selected traits and behaviors associated with disagreeableness and closedness to experience as indicators of prejudice. In Studies 2-4, perceivers with stigmatized identities (Total N = 907) learned about a target person who was depicted as disagreeable or agreeable (Studies 2 and 3) and as disagreeable or another trait matched on perceived negativity (i.e., low in conscientiousness, Study 4). RESULTS: Participants perceived the disagreeable target as more discriminatory and hierarchy-endorsing (Studies 2-4), more morally disengaged (Study 3), and more likely to discriminate against stigmatized identity groups (Studies 2 and 4) than the agreeable or low conscientious targets. The relationship between target disagreeableness and perceived discrimination was partially explained by higher perceived hierarchy endorsing beliefs (Studies 2-4) and perceived moral disengagement (Study 3). CONCLUSIONS: This research finds that perceivers with stigmatized identities utilize target disagreeableness as a cue of identity threat, inferring that disagreeable people are more likely to be discriminatory, prejudicial, and hierarchy-endorsing than agreeable and low conscientious people.

Hypodescent or ingroup overexclusion?: Children's and adults' racial categorization of ambiguous black/white biracial faces.

Two processes describe racially ambiguous Black/White Biracial categorization-the one-drop rule, or hypodescent, whereby racially ambiguous people are categorized as members of their socially subordinated racial group (i.e., Black/White Biracial faces categorized as Black) and the ingroup overexclusion effect, whereby racially ambiguous people are categorized as members of a salient outgroup, regardless of the group's status. Without developmental research with racially diverse samples, it is unclear when these categorization patterns emerge. Study 1 included White, Black, and racially diverse Biracial children (aged 3- to 7-years) and their parents to test how racial group membership and social context influence face categorization biases. To provide the clearest test of hypodescent and ingroup overexclusion, White participants came from majority White neighborhoods and Black participants from majority Black neighborhoods (with Biracial participants from more racially diverse neighborhoods)-two samples with prominent racial ingroups. Study 2 aimed to replicate the parent findings with a separate sample of White, Black, Black/White Biracial, and Asian adults. Results suggest the ingroup overexclusion effect is present across populations early in development and persists into adulthood. Additionally, categorization was meaningfully related to parental context, pinpointing a pathway that potentially contributes to ingroup overexclusion. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: White, Black, and racially diverse Biracial children and adults tended to categorize racially ambiguous Black/White Biracial faces as racial outgroup members, even if the outgroup was White. This contradicts most work arguing Black/White Biracial racially ambiguous people are more often seen as Black. Children and parents' categorizations were related, though children's categorizations were not related to socialization above and beyond parents' categorizations. Children showed similar categorization patterns across dichotomous and continuous measures.

How Black is biracial? Black people's empathy toward Black/White biracial people following racial discrimination in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: Two studies investigate how Black people's empathy toward Black/White Biracial people experiencing racial discrimination relates to Black/White Biracial people's identification in the United States. METHOD: Study 1 (N = 151, Mage = 36.3 years, SD = 11.1, 57% female) examines how Black people's perceptions of whether Black/White Biracial people identify as Black at a group level are related to empathy toward them through correlational methods. In Study 2 (N = 590; Mage = 32.3 years, SD = 11.4, 71% women), we experimentally manipulate Black/White Biracial people's racial identity through vignettes and assess Black participants' perceived similarity, racial identification of the Black/White Biracial target as Black, linked fate, and empathy. We tested Black participants' empathy toward a Black/White Biracial target who self-identified as Black, self-identified as White, or self-identified as Biracial, consistent with common identification patterns among Biracial people. RESULTS: Black participants empathized least with Black/White Biracial people who were perceived as identifying as White, or who explicitly self-identified as White. This association was mediated by perceptions that Black/White Biracial and Black people's fates are linked. Overall, Black people were most likely to empathize with Black/White Biracial people identifying as Black. CONCLUSIONS: For liminal group members, identification confers information regarding similarity, shared identity, and linked fate that relate to procuring empathy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The effect of paternal cues in prenatal care settings on men's involvement intentions.

A father's involvement in prenatal care engenders health benefits for both mothers and children. While this information can help practitioners improve family health, low paternal involvement in prenatal care remains a challenge. The present study tested a simple, easily scalable intervention to promote father involvement by increasing men's feelings of comfort and expectations of involvement in prenatal settings through three randomized control trials. Borrowing from social psychological theory on identity safety, the three studies tested whether the inclusion of environmental cues that represent men and fatherhood in prenatal care offices influenced men's beliefs and behavioral intentions during the perinatal period. Men in studies 1 and 3 viewed online videos of purported prenatal care offices, while men in study 2 visited the office in person. Those who viewed or were immersed in a father-friendly prenatal care office believed that doctors had higher expectations of father involvement compared to treatment-as-usual. This perception predicted greater parenting confidence, comfort, and behavioral intentions to learn about the pregnancy and engage in healthy habits, such as avoiding smoking and alcohol during their partner's pregnancy. Study 3 replicated these studies with an online sample of expectant fathers. The results suggest that shifting environment office cues can signal fathering norms to men in prenatal settings, with healthier downstream behavior intentions.

Early Paternal Support Behaviors Moderate Consonant Smoking Among Unmarried Parents.

OBJECTIVE: Unmarried mothers have high rates of smoking, including during late pregnancy and after pregnancy, thus increasing their children's risk for negative health outcomes associated with maternal tobacco use. Few studies have examined whether partners' smoking exacerbates or attenuates maternal smoking risk. The current study examines how fathers' behaviors during the third trimester of pregnancy and after pregnancy influence maternal smoking across the first 9 years of a child's life. METHOD: Unmarried parents (N = 2,580 pairs) from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study were measured four times. Paternal and maternal tobacco use during the third trimester was assessed via retrospective report at baseline (the time of the child's birth). Parents also reported tobacco use 1 year, 5 years, and 9 years later. Paternal supportive behaviors were self-reported at baseline. RESULTS: Paternal tobacco use predicted maternal tobacco use. This association was moderated by paternal supportive behaviors as reported by fathers (b = 0.51, 95% CI [0.22, 0.81], p = .001; adjusted odds ratio = 1.67, 95% CI [1.24, 2.25]). Paternal smoking predicted maternal smoking for fathers who reported both high and low levels of supportive behaviors, but this relationship was stronger for fathers who engaged in the highest levels of support. CONCLUSIONS: Unmarried fathers' smoking had a stronger relationship to maternal smoking during late pregnancy and postpartum when fathers engaged in more support behaviors. The results of this study suggest that targeting fathers' smoking cessation may help improve the effectiveness of tobacco cessation programs for at-risk unmarried mothers.

Identity Denied: Comparing American or White Identity Denial and Psychological Health Outcomes Among Bicultural and Biracial People.

Because bicultural and biracial people have two identities within one social domain (culture or race), their identification is often challenged by others. Although it is established that identity denial is associated with poor psychological health, the processes through which this occurs are less understood. Across two high-powered studies, we tested identity autonomy, the perceived compatibility of identities, and social belonging as mediators of the relationship between identity denial and well-being among bicultural and biracial individuals. Bicultural and biracial participants who experienced challenges to their American or White identities felt less freedom in choosing an identity and perceived their identities as less compatible, which was ultimately associated with greater reports of depressive symptoms and stress. Study 2 replicated these results and measured social belonging, which also accounted for significant variance in well-being. The results suggest the processes were similar across populations, highlighting important implications for the generalizability to other dual-identity populations.

Social Support and Postpartum Depression Revisited: The Traditional Female Role as Moderator among Mexican Women.

Women who lack social support tend to have a higher risk of postpartum depression. The present study examined the traditional female role, understood here as the adoption of passive and submissive traits specific to Mexican women, as another risk factor for postpartum depressive symptomatology that interacts with social support. Using two waves of data from a longitudinal study of 210 adult Mexican women (20-44 years-old, Mage = 29.50 years, SD = 6.34), we found that lacking social support during the third trimester of their pregnancy was associated with greater depressive symptoms at 6 months in the postpartum, although this relationship depended on the level of endorsement of the traditional female role during pregnancy. Lower social support during pregnancy predicted greater postpartum depressive symptoms for women with higher endorsement of the traditional female role, even when accounting for prenatal depressive symptoms. These results suggest that Mexican women's experience of social support may depend on their individual adherence to gender roles. Understanding the association between women's traditional roles and social support in the risk for postpartum depression can improve prevention and educational programs for women at risk.

Confronting as autonomy promotion: Speaking up against discrimination and psychological well-being in racial minorities.

Few studies have considered confrontation in the context of coping with discriminatory experiences. These studies test for the first time whether confronting racial discrimination is associated with greater psychological well-being and physical health through the promotion of autonomy. In two separate samples of racial minorities who had experienced racial discrimination, confrontation was associated with greater psychological well-being, and this relationship was mediated by autonomy promotion. These findings did not extend to physical health symptoms. These studies provide preliminary evidence that confrontation may aid in the process of regaining autonomy after experiencing discrimination and therefore promote well-being.