How Intergroup Contact Shapes Intergroup Attitudes and Construals of Relations Between Ethnic Groups: Evidence From Bosnia and Herzegovina

Two studies examined how intergroup contact in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) corresponds with shifts in intergroup attitudes and broader construals of intergroup relations in society. In Study 1, youth in BosniaHerzegovina from diverse ethnic backgrounds (n = 122) responded to a survey about their contact experiences, intergroup attitudes, and perceptions of relations between ethnic groups in BiH. Study 1 demonstrated that among Bosnian youth, more frequent positive intergroup contact significantly predicted more positive attitudes toward ethnic outgroup members (e.g., outgroup trust, closeness, empathy, humanization, and willingness for future contact), but did not predict holding more positive broader construals of relations between ethnic groups in BiH (e.g., as enemies or allies). Study 2 used a pre-post design to replicate and extend these findings by evaluating the effects of a week-long "Peace Camp" Intervention that brought together youth from diverse ethnic backgrounds (n = 43). This study found that youth reported significantly more positive attitudes following the Peace Camp Intervention; however, there were no significant pre-post differences in youths' construals of relations between ethnic groups. Taken together, these findings indicate that, in contexts of ethnic conflict, intergroup contact may have greater effects on measures that tap into intergroup attitudes toward ethnic outgroups than on measures that assess their broader construals of relations between groups in society.