A comparative study between the attitudes of black and white individuals toward black-white intermarriages as a function of self-esteem.

Abstract

The present study was designed to investigate the attitudes of black and white college students toward black-white intermarriages. The study also sought to identify a possible relationship between each student's attitude and his or her level of self-esteem. The total study sample consisted of 80 volunteer Emporia State University students, of which 20 were black males, 20 were white males, 20 were black females, and 20 were white females. The black subjects were comprised of Black Student Union Organization members, while the white subjects consisted of Introduction to Psychology students. All subjects were administered two tests, the Interracial Socializing Inventory and the Texas Social Behavior Inventory, a measure of se1festeem. The results indicated that: 1) there were no statistically significant differences between the attitudes of black and white students toward black-white intermarriages; 2) the difference between the attitudes of male and female students were not significant; 3) no statistically significant differences were found between the attitudes of black male, white male, black female, and white female groups; 4) no statistically significant correlation exists between attitude toward black-white intermarriages and self-esteem.