U.S. children draw on personal experiences and perceived parental beliefs to form attitudes about immigrant groups

Drawing on intergroup contact theory, this study investigated how 8- to 11-year-old American children's (N = 262, 55% girls, 52% White, in 2024 and 2025) direct contact with immigrants (e.g., at school) and perceptions of their parents' attitudes about them spending time with immigrants (comfortable or uncomfortable) informed their own attitudes about immigrant groups. More direct contact was associated with more positive attitudes, specifically, liking immigrants more and seeing immigrants as more American (βs = .16 and .20). At the same time, children who perceived their parents to be more comfortable with immigrants also liked immigrants more, felt closer to them, and were more interested in including them in their own activities (βs = .56, .28, and .40). These associations were comparable for children's attitudes about peers from Mexico, China, India, El Salvador, Nigeria, and Poland even though the sample had, on average, more frequent contact with people from some of those groups than with others. In an increasingly diverse country with a complex history around immigration, this new evidence is a helpful first step to understanding how American children integrate their personal experiences and perceptions of their parents' beliefs to form their own attitudes about immigrant groups.