An innovative intervention to implement extended contact and foster the development of cross-group friendships among young children

We conducted an extended contact longitudinal intervention aimed at increasing the number of cross-group friendships among young children. Italian elementary and secondary school children (N = 108) participated in a competition for the best essay, by sharing and writing down in small groups their best experiences of contact with immigrants. Compared to a control condition where children shared and reported experiences of friendships in general, results revealed that the intervention fostered (after one week from its end) the intention to meet outgroup members and their evaluation by increasing the perception that ingroup and outgroup and positive norms toward contact. Most notably, ingroup/outgroup norms and behavioral intentions mediated the effects of the intervention on the formation of cross-group friendships three months after the manipulation. This study thus demonstrates that interventions aimed at tackling prejudice toward minorities since a young age, when attitudes are more malleable, can help improving intergroup relations by having an impact on the social network of children