Contact in sport teams: consequences for prejudice and self-esteem

There is wide consensus on the idea that contact, under optimal conditions, has the potential to reduce prejudice (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). Much less contact research, however, addressed the impact of contact on variables concerning the self, like personal self-esteem resulting from encounters with outgroup members. On the basis of the literature, it is possible to hypothesize that contact has positive consequence on both self-esteem and intergroup attitudes, and that these relationships are driven by distinct processes. In particular, contact may affect self-esteem through a more favorable intergroup climate; contact should instead reduce prejudice by increasing the interest in spending time with outgroup members. To test these hypotheses, two studies were conducted. Participants were Italian adolescents (males playing in soccer teams in the first study; females playing in volleyball teams in the second study) belonging to sport teams including both Italian and immigrants players. The instrument used was a questionnaire. Results supported our hypotheses, suggesting that contact has positive consequences both for the self and for intergroup relations and that qualitative distinct processes drive these effects.