 Social distance attitudes, educational mobility, and European ancestry groups in the post‐World‐War II United StatesRobert L. Boyd Social Science Quarterly, 2021, vol. 102, issue 6, 2985-2995 Abstract: Objective This study examines the improvement of U.S. natives’ social distance attitudes toward Southern, Central, and Eastern (SCE) European ancestry groups in the post‐World‐War II United States, applying the idea that prejudice against these groups was due to racial/ethnic prejudice and social class prejudice. Methods Analyzing data from the Bogardus surveys and other published sources, the study tests the proposition that U.S. natives’ social distance attitudes toward SCE European ancestry groups improved because social class prejudice against these groups diminished as the groups’ educational attainment levels increased from the second‐ to third‐generations. Results Contrary to modernization and classical assimilation theories, the favorable trend in U.S. natives’ social distance attitudes toward SCE European ancestry groups was unaffected by the groups’ intergenerational educational mobility. Conclusion The decline in prejudice against SCE European ancestry groups in the postwar United States resulted from a decrease in racial/ethnic prejudice against these groups, independently of social class prejudice. Date: 2021 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:socsci:v:102:y:2021:i:6:p:2985-2995 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article Social Science Quarterly is currently edited by Robert L. Lineberry More articles in Social Science Quarterly from Southwestern Social Science Association |
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