Improving Intergroup Relations Among Youth

Book excerpt: On November 9-10, 1998, the Forum on Adolescence of the Board on Children, Youth, and Families, a cross-cutting initiative of the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, convened a workshop entitled Research to Improve Intergroup Relations Among Youth. Held at the request of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, this workshop considered selected findings of 16 research projects that have focused on intergroup relations among children and adolescents; all 16 received funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York for their work on this issue. The funding of these projects was part of a larger research initiative supported by Carnegie Corporation of New York that sought to update and expand the knowledge, sources, and dynamics of racial and ethnic prejudice among youth, identifying approaches to foster intergroup understanding. Improving Intergroup Relations Among Youth is the summary of the workshop, which provided an opportunity to learn about the work and preliminary findings of the 16 projects. This report reviews the knowledge base regarding the effectiveness of interventions designed to promote peaceful, respectful relations among youth of different ethnic groups.