Prejudice in children is set as early as the age of five, six or seven, a study undertaken last year with the cooperation of the Philadelphia school system has revealed.
The study, which attempted to determine whether and to what extent young children are aware of racial and religious groups and young children’s attitudes toward such groups, was carried on in six schools with 250 children of various racial and religious groups. The authors of the study concluded that children at an early age clearly reflect adult patterns of rejection and hostility. The study revealed that Jewish children are more concerned with group belonging than Catholic or Protestant children.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
